Bush, Maliki and That Memo

Too late for the chimpster...

President Bush’s news conference yesterday with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq had an even greater than usual sense of unreality about it, with Mr. Bush insisting that Mr. Maliki is “the right guy for Iraq” and that American troops will stay “until the job is complete,” while Mr. Maliki asserted that his country is a democracy and he is not a captive of Shiite militias.
But the disconnect seemed even more stunning once you realized that Mr. Bush’s national security adviser had sent him a memorandum three weeks ago describing how Iraq was being pulled apart by sectarian hatreds and warning that Mr. Maliki was either “ignorant of what is going on” or unwilling or unable to stop it.
The memo, which was published by The Times this week, at least answers the question of whether Mr. Bush is being told what’s going on in Iraq. In it, his national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, describes how Mr. Maliki’s Shiite-dominated government has deprived Sunnis of basic services, blocked military actions against Shiite targets and purged Iraq’s most effective military commanders to ensure Shiite dominance. The memo also warns that Mr. Maliki may not have “the political or security capabilities” to free himself from his narrow militia-dominated political base.

But the president’s performance this week — his refusal to impose any deadlines on Mr. Maliki to start reconciliation talks and break with the militias, and his refusal to give the Pentagon a deadline to stand up an effective Iraqi Army — tells us once again that Mr. Bush does not listen. More on the editorial.