Classified memo on Iraqi PM:

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 8:53 AM on November 29, 2006.

The NY Times reports on another boo-boo that is the fiasco of Iraq:

A classified memorandum by President Bush’s national security adviser expressed serious doubts about whether Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki had the capacity to control the sectarian violence in Iraq and recommended that the United States take new steps to strengthen the Iraqi leader’s position.

The Times opts for "sectarian violence" over "civil war" it should be noted, despite NBC's change of heart and Barry Lando's excellent piece in today's LA Times.

That aside, here's the two things to keep in mind while reading the Times article on the subject: 1. Most leaks are intentional and this one tells the American people that the Bush admin is coming down hard on its puppets and 2. This is America's government to play with. And therein lies the problem...

There's no easy answer: the government is weak and can't end the violence, the U.S. needs to come in and help, the U.S. coming in and helping has a limit because the government is then tainted by Occupation association, the government remains unable to end the Civil War...

Tagged as: bush, iraq, civil war, memo

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.