Comments on: (Updated) Iraq: Trying to Wish the War Away

By: domajot

domajot — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 02:30:29 +0000

I think we get just a glimmer of what is going on. This evening’s news reported that 90-100 people were reported killed while on pilgrimage. Since pilgrims have been targets almost as a tradition, I do wonder why this caught everyone by surprise.

Where were the security forces? Is a pilgrimage ignored because Baghdad is being treated as the be-all and end-all of security?

By: Confederate Yankee

Confederate Yankee — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:57:29 +0000

No Room for Success…

At least that is what we find via memeorandum.com, as a poster using the pseudonym “Chris in Paris writes on liberal Americablog: Nine US troops killed in explosions during combat, just on the heels of 28 Iraqis killed Monday in……

By: grognard

grognard — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:40:07 +0000

There are some things going right in Iraq now that Gates is in charge and we are getting serious about extremists on both sides. The Interior ministry has been purged of some of the people accused of aiding the militia groups. The Mahdi Army has had some of the leadership arrested, Sadr is taking a low profile. The Tribal leaders so critical to keeping things quiet have been brought into the reconstruction processes. These type of activities, far more than the increase in US troops, will have an effect on the insurgency. But with all of the deaths is reconciliation still possible in a culture where taking revenge is a way of righting a wrong against your family? The newly empowered Tribal leaders must end the cycle of revenge attacks, even as various terrorist and insurgents continue the bombings. The Government must continue to purge the other governmental agencies and risk the backlash from the political parties over the loss of patronage jobs. This should have been done along time ago, so the problem still remains that we might be too late. My feeling is that with the militia groups avoiding confrontation all we are seeing a lull in the battle, the forces of the insurgency are only waiting for us to leave before taking up arms again. They know that once we go we will not return when they come back to life and restart the violence.

By: Shaun Mullen

Shaun Mullen — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:30:34 +0000

Dave:

Good points all, notably that the illusion may be as effective as the reality. What strange times we live in.

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:25:59 +0000

There’s a lot of wishful thinking going around, Shaun. On all sides. Lots of supporters of the invasion wish that the calm were permanent. And lots of people (including some seeking the presidency) wish that we could withdraw from Iraq without repercussions in the region more serious than those of our staying there.

But the relative calm is illusory. Anti-American cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr has withdrawn to Iran and his Mahdi Army and ethnic cleansing squads have withdrawn into the shadows, and I suspect that itâ€™s only a matter of time before the surge is declared a success, both cleric and army are heard from again and the downtick is history.

If the relative calm extends to weeks or months, the illusion may be as effective as the reality. The real illusion is that of permanence not that of calm.