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An Iraq Mea Culpa and Global Plea for Help
Earlier today, Jeb Koogler pointed to a post at his blog (Foreign Policy Watch) re: the imminent failure of the surge “unless there is a major shift in focus.”
That post was excellent, and if you haven’t read it, you should. It certainly made me think and inspired another riff on the matter at Central Sanity.
6 Responses to “An Iraq Mea Culpa and Global Plea for Help”
This is what I commented on Jeb’s post re the Iraqi governement’s chances fo make progress:
“the only hope is in brokered peace with international involvement ”
(peace=peace among the factions in government)
The same comment seems to work here.
In order to defeat AQ at the tactical level we have created several Sunni militias, organizations that will not disband after the AQ threat is gone. In solving one problem we are only creating another. The various factions are arguing about what is mostly a political spoils system, this is more about access to graft than anything else. Split the country apart and they will fall into each group fighting amongst themselves and we can leave. Trying to keep this poor excuse of a country together is a fools errand.
“The news that the major Sunni bloc has pulled out of the government has not received nearly as much press as it deserves. In effect, the withdrawal of the Iraqi Accordance Front appears to doom any chance for peace in Iraq in the near future …”
Well, it made the headlines in some foreign newspapers, while the US media prefered to put it on A2, if at all. And you wonder why the rest of the world is thinking the US is totally incapable of succesfully executing this urgent task of nation building. You broke it, you own it, but you ain’t got a clue how to make it whole again.
Thanks for the comments, folks. Generally, they reinforce what I’m thinking at this point, which rarely happens. Commenters usually make me re-think my positions!
Welcome, Pete.
Sorry, but I feel compelled to break the aura of contentment cause by agreement.
I’m so very disappointed and frustrated that not one of those ardently supporting the surge in comments on Jeb’s port felt the need to chime in to discuss how the question of governing Iraq should be addressed in order to make the surge meaningful. It seems like the surge has become an end in itself/ This is a very dangerous attitude, IMO.
Like Biden’s, Grognard’s suggestion of diividing the country in a loose confederation has been bandied about and studied only to come up against a forbiddomg wall. If put to a referendum, the Iraqis are liable to reject the notion. Too many still cling to the notion of Shia and Sunni intermarrying, befriending each other and living in peace as neighbors (according to a report by a Brookings Institute panel). It seems incredible that this should be so, since they are already segregating in separate neighborhoods and townships, but an idea retains life even in the face of contradicrory evidence in reality.
Since the Iraqis are so conflicted (and enormously fearful and suspicious of each other), it’s small wonder their government can’t produce reasonable progress. To me, it is so glaringly obvious that the international communiry needs to intervene, I find it shocking that this course is not pursued with as much vigor ar the military might of the surge.
It really looks as if the US can only concieve of military solutions. If it can’t be done by the troops or the sale of arms, our strategy options list cp,es tp an abrupt end..
This is a terrible mistake, with bad consequences very possible for us and for the Iraqis