The folly of the surge: The Iraqis say "screw you."
The big story last night,
Today we get part of the reason why.
The US imposes "the surge," originally designed to start drawdown in August, with the primary purpose of allowing the Iraqis "breathing space" to enact political reconciliation, but the Iraqis say, "No, we're not even going to start until mid-September."
(As Eric Cartman says, "Screw you guys, I'm going home.")
The Bush administration will not try to assess whether the troop increase in Iraq is producing signs of political progress or greater security until September...
Today we get part of the reason why.
(Reuters) "Ten weeks into the Baghdad crackdown, seen as a last effort to avert Iraq from sliding into civil war, there are few signs parliament will pass the laws before it recesses in July."
(NYTimes) "But Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates found himself pressing Mr. Maliki last week to keep Parliament from taking a two-month summer break."
The US imposes "the surge," originally designed to start drawdown in August, with the primary purpose of allowing the Iraqis "breathing space" to enact political reconciliation, but the Iraqis say, "No, we're not even going to start until mid-September."
(As Eric Cartman says, "Screw you guys, I'm going home.")
posted by mikevotes at
6:50 AM
4 Comments:
The Cartman quote should be work up as a bumper sticker. It's funny, yet bitingly, honestly, apropos.
By
-epm, at 4:35 PM
That's where I am now.
I've been a big proponent against blaming the Iraqis, but as Maliki's government rounds around a year in the next few months, it is not unrealistic to think that they should have made some move.
The problem is, how do you abandon the government without abandoning the civilians?
By
mikevotes, at 6:00 PM
A dilemma of Solomonic proportions, to be sure. Nonetheless, the killing of Iraqis is at the hands of Iraqis. Perhaps we uncorked the bottle, but to pretend we can force the genie back into it is folly. The Iraqis need to form a government and a country organically, not at the artificial and coercive hand of the US. The most stable result will occur when American combat troops (and mercenaries) are withdrawn.
It's not the we don't have a mission in Iraq. It's that we don't have a combat mission in Iraq.
By
-epm, at 12:52 AM
Good point. An enforced (imposed/non-organic) solution will lead to a solution out of equilibrium.
Such a solution could be maintained, but only with the constant application of force.
By
mikevotes, at 7:22 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home