Chicken Dance

Tony Snow's press briefings often bear an unsettling resemblance to the final scene of Werner Herzog's Stroszek.



Dance, Chickenboy. Dance.

Q When you talk about Prime Minister Maliki having a clear understanding that progress needs to be made, we've heard that for a long, long time. Is there something new that suggests the President -- an urgency --

MR. SNOW: I simply do not want to get into the particulars of conversations from the Iraqi side. But it is a safe characterization to say that they do understand the importance not only for the Iraqi people, but for the American public of seeing political progress.

Q What does the President see in Prime Minister Maliki that leads him to giving his strong support?

MR. SNOW: Well, keep in mind that the President not only speaks regularly with the Prime Minister, but also with our people on the ground -- Ambassador Crocker, General Petraeus and others. And they're also in regular contact with the Prime Minister. But I don't -- Jim, at this point, I don't want to get into particulars that the Iraqi government may be engaged in just because it's important --

Q But I mean in the big picture, when you say the President gave strong support -- communicated strong support to Prime Minister Maliki, what is that strong support based on?

MR. SNOW: The strong support is based on not only his measure of the Prime Minister, it's also what he's hearing from the Prime Minister; it is conversation also with the readouts and the conversations that the Prime Minister and others in his government are having with senior diplomats either at the State Department or in our embassy in Baghdad. It's a combination of factors where -- again, as a result of communications that the President has been having with the government of Iraq.

Q I would think if you're making your case not just to Congress, but to the American people about, stay with us, we need more time here to let this all unfold, that you could say, and Prime Minister Maliki is our guy because -- because of what?

MR. SNOW: Again, Jim, I know that you want me to start talking about things that have been discussed confidentially between the two heads of state --

Q No, I just mean, you can't say --

MR. SNOW: Well, big picture --

Q -- why we support this guy?

MR. SNOW: Yes. Number one, he is committed to political reconciliation and political progress. Number two, he is committed also to dealing with the tough issues of security. Number three, he's been working on the diplomatic front and continues to express himself --

Q But what has he accomplished?

MR. SNOW: Well, what he's accomplished is you're working toward those goals. Look, the President, again, realizes the political stuff, which is what have you accomplished. Let me back up. Take a look at the difference between the security situation a few months ago and today. And what you have seen is significant security advancements, in part because the Iraqis have stepped forward much more assertively than before. They're putting their forces on the front line. They have had successes in places like Baghdad, Anbar and now Diyala. Why? Because there is a sense now that the Americans are going to -- we're going to keep our word, in terms of security. The Iraqis are stepping forward; they're also demonstrating their faith, in terms of building security. And you have seen a different security situation, not only in terms of the strength of the opponents, but also in terms of Iraqi citizens, themselves, standing up.

You hear a lot of talk of bottom-up progress. Bottom-up progress means the people now who see the Americans and the Iraqis working side by side are saying, we're going after al Qaeda. We will tell you where the militias are hiding out; we will tell you where the insurgents are. And there are very significant advancements just in the two months since Congress approved the finances for this. So that's number one.

Number two, the Prime Minister has made it clear -- and he has shared ideas, and I'm not going to get into them -- but he's being very aggressive on the front of trying to build larger coalitions. And I understand one of the things the President made clear is we hear these things, we need to see results, and that will be the byproduct of the leadership.

So many words, with so little meaning.