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Roger Cohen: The long view in Iraq - International Herald Tribune

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Roger Cohen: The long view in Iraq - International Herald Tribune
Topic: Current Events 7:51 am EDT, Jun 18, 2007

The Iraqi conflict is going to be with us for years if not decades. The country has become the focus of a crisis of Islamic civilization that is closer to its onset than its conclusion. Violent conflict between the now dominant Shiite community and Sunnis nostalgic for power is but one aspect of this epochal upheaval.
...
Against this reality, exacerbated in Iraq by the whirlwind fragmentation that often occurs in multi-ethnic societies when the lid of despotism is lifted, America's September deadline for measuring the progress achieved by the addition of 30,000 troops looks almost comical.

Let's face it folks, things are not going to be measurably better in Iraq by September. They may be about the same; they could be worse. The destructive energy disaggregating the country is still building. Wars tend to end when their participants are exhausted. We are not there yet, not even close.
...
To ensure this, the United States must keep a military presence in Iraq for the foreseeable future. The size of this deterrent force is up for debate, but 50,000 soldiers, or 105,000 less than today, is one talked-about figure. The timing of the drawdown will have to be discussed with Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, but it should begin soon after September.

errr wrong the US is not a stabilizing force in Iraq
handing over to a regional force of combined Arab League and Iranian forces, if they could gel, would help
but hey reality check the US presence makes things worse, they're not seen as a neutral policeman, the US presence draws in outside forces and domestically a 50 year commitment like Korea is a non-starter
that's my opinion
I think the questions that need addressing are:
is the US a stabilizing force?
can the US both be a player in the conflict and a policeman? ( I think you're attending what my housemate, who's a cop, would call a DT [domestic trouble] and in a DT both parties are listed in the report as the aggrieved party even through one might be the instigator yet in Iraq the US is an aggrieved party)

Roger Cohen: The long view in Iraq - International Herald Tribune



 
 
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