Basra Assault Exposes Fraud of “National Reconciliation” in Iraq

[babylonsister]

Basra Assault Exposes Fraud of “National Reconciliation” in Iraq
Submitted by davidswanson on Sun, 2008-03-30 19:08.
By Robert Naiman, CommonDreams.org



Critics of the Bush Administration’s policies in Iraq have charged that the Bush Administration’s “surge” policy has failed, since its stated intention was to improve security to create the political space for “national reconciliation” in Iraq. Since national reconciliation has not taken place in Iraq, the surge has failed.

But after this week’s US-assisted Iraqi government assault on neighborhoods in Basra controlled by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army, I fear that this criticism praises with faint damnation. I fear that it could be construed to accept the premise that the Bush Administration is trying to produce national political reconciliation in Iraq, while arguing that it has failed to achieve its goal.

After this week, I regard this premise to be a clear fraud.

While President Bush says the Iraqi government offensive showed that the prime minister believed “in evenhanded justice” - presumably because the government was showing that it would attack Shiite and Sunni militias - supporters of the Mahdi Army claimed that it was a political attack on their movement to weaken it prior to regional elections scheduled for October. But this interpretation of events is by no means limited to Iraqis.

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http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/32333

[bemildred]

1. The only real purpose it ever had was to stall.

And it has done that, but not long enough. I wonder what sort of bullshit they will come up with now.

[babylonsister]

2. Well, that worked, til now. And nevermind the collateral damage incurred.

I'd like to see any of the warmongers in this admin hooked up to a lie detector test. They'd all fail.

[Mika]

3. stall? For what? The return of Jeezuz?

That'll happen before any real Iraq oil bill is legalized/enforced.

[bemildred]

4. Stalling has several purposes:

1.) Maybe the Iraqis will give up.
2.) Anyway it gets you past the next elections.
3.) Meanwhile you avoid admitting what a useless asshole you have been in Congress by allowing this debacle to proceed.
4.) And you keep getting paid and having full medical.
5.) In any case, another term in Congress is another term in Congress.
6.) You could get lucky and something else will come along and people will forget about Iraq.
7.) Tomorrow is always a better day to admit what a useless asshole you have been than today.