Gee, pundits and news folks asking the question, “could Iraq have a civil war”? Attention world. It is a civil war and has been underway for some time. Here’s what I wrote one year ago (November 20, 2005) (and yes, I get an “I-told-you-so” victory lap):
The multiple threats we face in Iraq will not be solved by an election.
The differences dividing the ethno religious groups in the territory of
Iraq cannot be bridged by a group hug or a sit down around a conference
table. We have ripped the scab off of an ancient wound and unleashed a
beast that cannot be calmed through diplomacy. We do not have the force
structure in place in Iraq to contain the burgeoning civil war.
Instead, we are becoming pawns that each side of this ethnic quagmire
will use to justify their particular agendas. The British learned the
hard way in the 1920s. It remains to be seen if we are willing to learn
anything from history or just destined to repeat it.
We now know the answer. There is no learning going on at the White House or among many in the news business. Speaking of learning. Pat Lang almost had an aneurysm listening to Norah O’Donnell pretending to be a blond bimbo on Hardball today. Here are Pat’s answers to questions posed by O’Donnell:
Norah O’Donnell asked the following on “Hardball.”
Question. What has happened in the last 48 hours to make the situation so much different in Iraq?
Answer. Nothing. This civil
war has been building gradually ever since the end of direct US rule
(CPA) as the communities fight it out for power and wealth. It was
inevitable that they would do so. Why people could not see that is a
continuing mystery. The civil war has simply reached this level in its
process of “organic growth. It has little to do with us.
Question. Is this our worst nightmare?
Answer. Hell No!
The civil war and the insurgencies will continue to develop. Our worst
nightmare would be a total disintegration of Iraq into a war of all
against all, and the situation is headed in that direction. We should
look to the security of our forces and embassy. NOW!!
As an unsolicited bit of advice I would suggest to the Bush
Administration that they stop thinking of Maliki as a national
government head and start thinking of him as a Shia partisan leader
seeking the benefit if his community at the expense of others. NOW!!
My money is still on the Shia to prevail. May be time to dust off those helicopter landing pads on top of the U.S. Embassy in the Green Zone. This triumph of democracy is running into some problems. Is Saddam available?
