Staring at the Abyss
"Iraqi party leaders who had been cavalierly indulging in sectarian politics suddenly found themselves staring into the abyss, and they were recoiling."
--an anonymous official in Baghdad, quoted in a NEWSWEEK article, "War of the Mosques," March 6, 2006.
As the death toll mounted and the civil war fires threatened to burn out of control, everyone involved--even the firebrand Moqtada al-Sadr, began to plead for calm, peaceful demonstrations, and a return to some semblance of daily life.
In the newborn Iraqi government, Sunnis who had walked out of delicate negotiations in a rage decided to return and see if they could deal with the unrest from the inside out. In a surprise move, they persuaded the Kurdish representatives, and with secular representatives backed by the Americans, to ally with them and form a newer, more powerful voting bloc that could actually overpower the Shi'ite majority. (148 seats to 130.)
The Shi'ite nominee for prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, was recently only put forth by a win of only a one-vote margin, and that win was made possible only when Moqtada al-Sadr threw his support behind Jaafari.
This development, especially in light of the savagery displayed by Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, was terrifying to the Sunnis, who were already resentful of Jaafari because it was he who had instigated the infiltration of the Interior Ministry by Shi'ite militias.
The Kurds, with their 20% minority, had tried to remain relatively neutral, preferring to keep to themselves up north and basically be left alone. But when the newly-nominated Jaafari paid an official visit to Turkey--ancient enemies to the Kurds--they responded with outrage, and threw in with the Sunnis to create an umbrella bloc in the parliament.
If the new "umbrella bloc" of Sunnis and Kurds can successfully oust Jaafari and oversee the nomination of a more moderate candidate more in tune with their needs, then a crucial American objective--involving the Sunnis in their own government--would come to fruition.
However, that could backfire as well, if the Shi'ites pull out of negotiations or split apart from the government.
Meanwhile, whenever the government lifts a curfew, more violence ensues. The Iraqi army will show up and the violence will settle down…only to pop up in another location not covered by security.
Much like a prairie fire. And our troops are running out of water.
----------
Recently, at a hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Director of the National Intelligence Agency, and representatives of the State Department testified that not only was the Taliban regaining a foothold in Afghanistan, with suicide bombings increasing "almost fourfold" and bombings "more than doubled," but they laid out the reality for the senators on what it means to invade a country and impose "democracy" on a largely illiterate, uneducated populace who has no concept of what that word even means.
Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, the director of the DIA, said that, "with over a million Sunni Arab military-aged males in Iraq, insurgents have little difficulty mobilizing enough fighters," adding, "The elections appear to have heightened tension and polarized sectarian divides."
When asked by Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va), chairman of the panel, what the "benchmarks" of a civil war would be, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte responded that he would see it as involving, "a complete loss of central government security control, the disintegration or deterioration of the security forces of the country," and, "unauthorized forces…getting the upper hand in the situation."
When George W. Bush decided to invade Iraq, he was asked in a nationally-televised interview if he had sought his father's advice. After stammering for a moment, he said, "He's not the right person to ask, in terms of strength."
I take that to mean that this president and his minions considered President George H.W. Bush to have been weak not to "finish the job" by going all the way into Baghdad during the Gulf War. There is ample evidence that Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, both who served George Sr., had been itching to "finish the job" ever since, even petitioning President Clinton to do so.
There is now also ample evidence that immediately following 9-11, this administration set out to find a way to tie Iraq to the attacks in order to justify going to war.
Well, they got their bloody war.
Iraq is on fire.
And the arsonists are in charge of putting it out.
--an anonymous official in Baghdad, quoted in a NEWSWEEK article, "War of the Mosques," March 6, 2006.
As the death toll mounted and the civil war fires threatened to burn out of control, everyone involved--even the firebrand Moqtada al-Sadr, began to plead for calm, peaceful demonstrations, and a return to some semblance of daily life.
In the newborn Iraqi government, Sunnis who had walked out of delicate negotiations in a rage decided to return and see if they could deal with the unrest from the inside out. In a surprise move, they persuaded the Kurdish representatives, and with secular representatives backed by the Americans, to ally with them and form a newer, more powerful voting bloc that could actually overpower the Shi'ite majority. (148 seats to 130.)
The Shi'ite nominee for prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, was recently only put forth by a win of only a one-vote margin, and that win was made possible only when Moqtada al-Sadr threw his support behind Jaafari.
This development, especially in light of the savagery displayed by Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, was terrifying to the Sunnis, who were already resentful of Jaafari because it was he who had instigated the infiltration of the Interior Ministry by Shi'ite militias.
The Kurds, with their 20% minority, had tried to remain relatively neutral, preferring to keep to themselves up north and basically be left alone. But when the newly-nominated Jaafari paid an official visit to Turkey--ancient enemies to the Kurds--they responded with outrage, and threw in with the Sunnis to create an umbrella bloc in the parliament.
If the new "umbrella bloc" of Sunnis and Kurds can successfully oust Jaafari and oversee the nomination of a more moderate candidate more in tune with their needs, then a crucial American objective--involving the Sunnis in their own government--would come to fruition.
However, that could backfire as well, if the Shi'ites pull out of negotiations or split apart from the government.
Meanwhile, whenever the government lifts a curfew, more violence ensues. The Iraqi army will show up and the violence will settle down…only to pop up in another location not covered by security.
Much like a prairie fire. And our troops are running out of water.
----------
Recently, at a hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Director of the National Intelligence Agency, and representatives of the State Department testified that not only was the Taliban regaining a foothold in Afghanistan, with suicide bombings increasing "almost fourfold" and bombings "more than doubled," but they laid out the reality for the senators on what it means to invade a country and impose "democracy" on a largely illiterate, uneducated populace who has no concept of what that word even means.
Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, the director of the DIA, said that, "with over a million Sunni Arab military-aged males in Iraq, insurgents have little difficulty mobilizing enough fighters," adding, "The elections appear to have heightened tension and polarized sectarian divides."
When asked by Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va), chairman of the panel, what the "benchmarks" of a civil war would be, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte responded that he would see it as involving, "a complete loss of central government security control, the disintegration or deterioration of the security forces of the country," and, "unauthorized forces…getting the upper hand in the situation."
When George W. Bush decided to invade Iraq, he was asked in a nationally-televised interview if he had sought his father's advice. After stammering for a moment, he said, "He's not the right person to ask, in terms of strength."
I take that to mean that this president and his minions considered President George H.W. Bush to have been weak not to "finish the job" by going all the way into Baghdad during the Gulf War. There is ample evidence that Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, both who served George Sr., had been itching to "finish the job" ever since, even petitioning President Clinton to do so.
There is now also ample evidence that immediately following 9-11, this administration set out to find a way to tie Iraq to the attacks in order to justify going to war.
Well, they got their bloody war.
Iraq is on fire.
And the arsonists are in charge of putting it out.
posted by Deanie Mills at 8:39 PM
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