It is likely that the Iraq war will not be the no. 1 issue for the 2008 election. The Iraq war issue has slipped to the no. 2 issue on the minds of voter supplanted by the economy.
The main reason that the importance of Iraq has slipped is because the troop surge has been successful in reducing the number of American combat deaths and Iraqi civilian casualties. Nevertheless, it must be noted that this year is the most deadly year of the war, for both Americans and Iraqis.
In the short term, General Petraeus’s war strategy has worked. It has worked because Petraeus has done what no other general has been willing to do. He has made a deal with both Sunni and Shia militias. He will give them American arms if they will fight al Qaeda. It is a kind of Faustian bargain, because the price that we might someday pay for this action is America watching Sunni and Shia fighting a civil war, both sides armed by America. In addition to a substantial reduction of casualties in Baghdad, al Qaeda has been all but defeated in Iraq. Al Qaeda’s activity is diminished and its casualties are up. It is no longer the major threat it once was.
But that is not the whole story. In Iraq almost 5 million people have been forced from their homes by ethnic cleansing in many neighborhoods. Religious fanatics have established theocratic rule in some neighborhoods, that is not unlike what we saw in Afghanistan under the Talaban. In other parts of the country, gangs of thugs and/or sectarian militias rule the streets.
The Iraqi central government – the one President Bush has praised as a shining example of democracy for all the Middle East – is all but dysfunctional. Most of its cabinet ministries are vacant or totally bogged down. Local police forces and the Iraqi Army are still unreliable, because many members are loyal to local militias and sectarian leaders. Worst of all, the political reconciliation that must happen of Iraq is ever to develop into a stable democracy, seems even further from fruition today than it was last year.
The upshot of all this is that with respect to Iraq there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that the situation is not as rosy as President Bush’s disconnected-from-reality rhetoric would lead us to believe. The good news is that the Iraq situation has improved enough that perhaps we can look for a serious pull back in our in our presence there, over the next year.
Technorati Tags: 
we aren't at war
http://jeffellison.net/
If we were truly at WAR, we wouldn't be pussy-footin' around , We would drop the big one , tell everybody we are going to do it and if they don't like it ,they get one too. It's just that simple . We are just being played for every dollar they can get out of US. War is nothing for profit. They make all those bullets , somebodies got to shoot them. All us hunters just need shot gun shells. I don't need a bullet that will travel 3 miles before it drops.
a culture and a people suffer because there IS a war
And maybe if we were in a society with a decent education system, Mr. Ellison would have generated an interesting or insightful response. Instead, you bantered like a fool and dropped your website in the mix to try to get more attention. Good for you. Cookie?
Indeed.
Schools not bombs. Recommended reading (I'm still working my way through it...)
Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present - The history of America's political, military, and intellectual involvement in the Middle East from George Washington to George W. Bush.
A very good read so far.
Now, while I agree the 'nuke em all' rally cry isn't something I agree with, remember to try to be somewhat civil, Khaarl. Also, the link is ok (although sometimes he uses it more than he should for it to be effective - think quality links, not quantity links. ;) We don't have a strict policy for linking to other websites unlike other sites in the area.
Ok, ok, I'll try to be civil too. ;)
Good to see ya back. How are classes going?
Would love to see some of your input. We have a blogger that worked with OhMyNews (who's in West Lafayette now, I believe) who's been writing some cool stuff, as well as Rex and Bob...
Anyway...
-kpaul
War??
Bob Hertzog
I used the term "Iraq War." Perhaps I should have found another more accurate term. Our fight against terrorism is not really a war. Today, the fight in Iraq is a fight against terrorists. The "War" in Iraq has been over for a long time. Terrorists like al Qaeda are a group of international thugs (dangerous to be sure) but our fight against them should not be conceived in any way like a war as we traditionally usderstand that term. This is a very important distinction I think, because we have focused our attention against nations (Afghanistan, Iraq, perhaps soon Iran) instead of directly against terrorists themselves. Witness our moving our effort from the fight against al Qaeda in Afghanistan just when we had bin Laden cornered there, in order to engage Iraq in a more traditional war. If we continue to conceive of our fight against terrorism as a traditional war, our efforts well be less effective then they might otherwise be.
get at the truth
Well if my view on history is correct ,PEACE on this planet as we know it, isn't attainable . I didn't make the rules!! I don't agree with a lot of our policed society, and the price that it has paid on the poverty stricken people of this earth .
I believe in FREEDOM !! but we are lied to by our elected officials everyday .
This has been going on for 2007 years and counting , Do you have a plan to stop it ?? To get all the truths they have to tell us of what we are actually capable of . Good LUCK & GO get EM'
OUR OIL
We have our own oil , yet we don't use it ,( or at least they tell us it's in reserve ) why do we do that ???
Conserving for World War III?
...which will probably be Russia/China and small satellites as the Axis and the rest of the world Allies, Israel, then us the way things are going.
I'm sure the government tends to think long term like that. If you look at the big picture sometimes (and read news and information from all over the world via the web), you can see it heading toward that.
In any case, we the people are what makes America America. While the Internet is open, we still have a voice...
-kpaul
@ khaarl
sorry if i was a little harsh with you. I guess I shouldn't squash conversation when it pops up on the site. ;)
-kpaul
where it says war is nothing
where it says war is nothing for profit should read
WAR is nothing but profit !! SORRY for the misprint
no problem
you weren't harsh. i was :-)
Post new comment