Rightwing Us Media Respond to Call for Withdrawal

Conservative US papers today condemned what they described as "appeasement" the day after the New York Times finally came out to call for the withdrawal of US troops.

The Washington Times, in its editorial, cautioned that the "appeasement caucus", into which it lumped Democratic and Republican Congressmen who support an early return as well as the New York Times and other media, "are poised to send another unmistakable message of weakness to the jihadists".

The Wall Street Journal, whose editorial page is among the most conservative of the mainstream US media, said Republicans calling for early withdrawal would get no credit from the electorate if they contribute to an ugly outcome in Iraq.

"Their best prospect for making Iraq less important in 2008 is military progress that allows for a reduction in US forces with honor and a more stable Iraqi government."

Columnist Robert Novak, in his regular Washington Post slot, reported that the national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, had been meeting Republican senators uneasy about Iraq.

"Some senators were left with the impression that the White House still does not recognise the scope of the Iraq dilemma," Novak wrote.

The New York Times, in its lengthy editorial on Sunday, began without equivocation: "It is time for the United States to leave Iraq without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.

"Like many Americans, we have put off that conclusion, waiting for a sign from President Bush that he was seriously trying to dig the United States out of the disaster he created by invading Iraq without sufficient cause, in the face of global opposition, and without a plan to stabilize the country afterward."

It said it had lost patience with Mr Bush's promised breakthroughs. "It is frighteningly clear Mr Bush's plan is to stay the course as long as he is president and dump the mess on his successor. Whatever his cause was, it is lost."

The editorial runs through the various practical issues, including the mechanics of withdrawal. It concludes: "President Bush and vice-president Dick Cheney have used demagoguery and fear to quell Americans' demands for an end to this war.

"They say withdrawing will create bloodshed and chaos and encourage terrorists. Actually, all of that has already happened - the result of this unnecessary invasion and the incompetent management of this war."