A new analysis from democracyarsenal.org posits the question of whether the United States is actually now undermining the Shiites in what might be called a "Second Betrayal." Some of them actually accuse the US of wanting civil war. After reading this, and reading what Juan Cole has to say about it all in his entry today (March 28), it makes one wonder.
In contrast to the last three years of anarchy, incompetence and bumbling attempts at democracy, could it be that the Bush regime is now looking fondly on the level of stability and peace which Saddam Hussein and his Sunni minority once maintained?
To be sure, events are still unfolding. But the ultimate purpose of the Bush government in Iraq -- namely the strategic placement of American troops next to Iran and Syria, within view of the Saudi oil fields, and near central Asia's pipelines -- will be served by whatever developments the Bush government sees working in its favor. If it takes a military regime to control the country, so be it. That is what will happen. It really doesn't matter who the personalities are in power if they are serving our national interests.
2 comments:
Good post. And scary post title!
The real risk, I suspect, is that Bush will drag us into a larger regional war.
I take what happened in Baghdad as more blundering and the attitude of Bush as someone insisting on staying in his bubble.
Generally speaking, the US military has pulled back somewhat during the month of March and the blunder in Baghdad is going to remind them why it's smart to stay out of the growing civil war except in crystal clear situations. There's still a chance the civil war might cool down but Bush has done a poor job in that respect.
The reality is, as you probably know, civil war is certainly something to keep us there until our permanent bases are strangling the Muslim land and dotting the landscape of Mesopotamia!
Post a Comment