US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said the divisions among sectarian and ethnic communities were "the fundamental problem in Iraq".Thanks for figuring that out now, brains.
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- Policy lawyer, international relations postgrad, lefty contrarian, muso, married, proud father, have cats, lefty, enjoy fine liquor... These Armagnac dispatches cover parenting and fatherhood, politics, law, ethics, international relations, life and love, cats and a piece of my soul for good measure.
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4 comments:
no, reeeeeally?!!!!
I disagree with this. The fundamental problem in Iraq is that there are a significant number of people with more to gain from violence than parliamentary elections under the auspices of the United States. And that, having failed to disarm them after over-throwing Saddam, there is noone with sufficient power to force (and possibly even to negotiate) a peaceful outcome.
The sectarian and ethnic violence is a symptom of those same people using cultural identity to firm up their own power base, and assorted uncritical supporters who, having taken in the rhetoric, act out their impulses.
Telling Iraqi leaders to not be sectarian is like telling Australian politicians to give up their parties. Great idea, but it won't happen.
Er, yup. Mission not-quite-accomplished-depending-on-what-key-KPIs-we-were-aiming-for.
Saddam gone? Tick. Everything else? We'll get back to you. Unknown unknowns, you understand.
That'll be key key performance indicators, folks.
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