Will Murtha Be Right After All?

Representative Jack Murtha called for the withdrawal of U.S. forces out of Iraq late last year, which sent the conservatives in Congress and the media flying into spastic rage with insults and epithets aplenty. All that for proposing an idea in a democracy. It truly was an embarassing day for the Republicans.

At this moment Vice President Cheney is meeting with Arab leaders on his tour of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. From a UPI article (thanks to Juan Cole for spotting this) titled "U.S. seeking Arab peacekeepers in Iraq", it is put forward that the Administration is trying to talk other Arab nations to sponsor troops in Iraq, giving the United States an open invitation to leave.

Get ready Republican backbenchers in Congress to let loose with "cut and run", "cowardice", and "dishonor" on the floor come Tuesday.

Additionally in the article, it is noted that Vice President Cheney's last visit to Egypt came in the barnstorming tour of the Middle East in 2002 to drum up support for the scheduled military adventure in Iraq. At the time, Juan Cole's web log summed up the meetings with this excerpt:

In Egypt, at a news conference at Sharm El Sheikh, President Hosni Mubarak "voiced opposition to any U.S. plan to topple Iraq's Saddam Hussein". He added, "It is of vital importance to maintain the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. This is a must for preserving regional stability," The words "very unwise" keep popping up in the press reports, following the VP like signature line in a stand up routine.

How likely will it be that these countries, which opposed the invasion in the first place or at least had strong misgivings, will take the lead in occupying the powder keg that is America's Iraq?