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War Czar: Iraqis Can Reconcile!
So what's the point of the surge, anyway?
From the inception, and constantly reiterated by President Bush, Defense Secretary Bob Gates, General David Petraeus and others, escalating the U.S. troop presence in Iraq is supposed to give Iraqi politicians the "breathing room" necessary to foster sectarian reconciliation. There's just one problem: no reconciliation has materialized despite the surge. Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki's coterie doesn't expect reconciliation efforts in parliament to move forward in the foreseeable future.
Lieutenant General Doug Lute has peppered his responses to senators' questions with skepticism over the pace of reconciliation. But when Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) asked directly whether he thinks sectarian reconciliation is still in the cards, he defined the problem as a "capacity" issue, not one of will.
So Lute is "concerned but not yet convinced" that reconciliation won't happen. He didn't specify what he thought should happen if the Iraqi political and social scene remains as violently fractious by, say, General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker's September report to Congress as it is today. Judging by President Bush's belief that reconciliation progress is in fact unfolding right now, probably not much, even if undermines the entire purpose of the current strategy. The hearing is in recess now, so we'll see if Lute is pressed on this in the afternoon.
Comments (6)
Anonymous wrote on June 7, 2007 1:58 PM:[E]scalating the U.S. troop presence in Iraq is supposed to give Iraqi politicians the "breathing room" necessary to foster sectarian reconciliation?
The Bush admin is so naive.
The Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq have been at each others throats for a long time.
Al-Maliki, Al-Hakim, Bayan Jabr, et al sure as hell are not going to simply let by gones be by by gones for the US which is Israel's number one ally.
Perhaps things would be different if the US would have not turned its back on Al-Maliki a few years back:
Bush warns Iraq on chemical arms U.S. fears use of weapons against rebels. Chicago Tribune. March 10, 1991 [snip]
Jawad al-Maliki of the Dawa Party said in Damascus, Syria, that mustard gas was used against protesters in al-Haleh, al-Kifil, Najaf and some areas of Basra, in southeastern Iraq.
Precisely what is going on inside Iraq is difficult to determine since Western reporters have been expelled. Most information is coming from refugees and opposition leaders in Iran and Syria.
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney described the situation as "volatile" but said it appears Hussein will be able to keep the unrest in check for now.
The Iraqi leader is using his loyal Republican Guard to quell the
Kindling Stick wrote on June 7, 2007 2:00 PM:rebellion.
[E]scalating the U.S. troop presence in Iraq is supposed to give Iraqi politicians the "breathing room" necessary to foster sectarian reconciliation?
The Bush admin is so naive.
The Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq have been at each others throats for a long time.
Al-Maliki, Al-Hakim, Bayan Jabr, et al sure as hell are not going to simply let by gones be by by gones for the US which is Israel's number one ally.
Perhaps things would be different if the US would have not turned its back on Al-Maliki a few years back:
Bush warns Iraq on chemical arms U.S. fears use of weapons against rebels. Chicago Tribune. March 10, 1991 [snip]
Jawad al-Maliki of the Dawa Party said in Damascus, Syria, that mustard gas was used against protesters in al-Haleh, al-Kifil, Najaf and some areas of Basra, in southeastern Iraq.
Precisely what is going on inside Iraq is difficult to determine since Western reporters have been expelled. Most information is coming from refugees and opposition leaders in Iran and Syria.
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney described the situation as "volatile" but said it appears Hussein will be able to keep the unrest in check for now.
The Iraqi leader is using his loyal Republican Guard to quell the
Victor Berry wrote on June 7, 2007 8:48 PM:rebellion.
Petraeus got his fourth star for going along with Bush. Now let's see if Lute can do the same.
Anonymous wrote on June 8, 2007 1:05 AM:Why should the Iraqi Army want to take over from us and start getting killed at the rate of 3/day when we're perfectly willing to do it forever? That's pretty much the scenario Bush has set up, isn't it? He says we'll be there until the Iraqis "stand up" but never puts any milestones or timelines for them to meet.
d
Anonymous wrote on June 8, 2007 1:08 AM:Why should the Iraqi Army want to take over from us and start getting killed at the rate of 3/day when we're perfectly willing to do it forever? That's pretty much the scenario Bush has set up, isn't it? He says we'll be there until the Iraqis "stand up" but never puts any milestones or timelines for them to meet.
d
Anonymous wrote on June 8, 2007 9:36 AM:Why should the Iraqi Army want to take over from us and start getting killed at the rate of 3/day when we're perfectly willing to do it forever? That's pretty much the scenario Bush has set up, isn't it? He says we'll be there until the Iraqis "stand up" but never puts any milestones or timelines for them to meet. So they will just keep waiting, won't they?
d