Posted on 03/01/2006 12:04:27 PM PST by stand4somethin
Last week the golden dome of the Askariya shrine in Samarra was blown apart. Sectarian riots followed, and reprisals and deaths ensued. Thugs and criminals came out of the woodwork to foment further violence. But instead of the apocalypse of an ensuing civil war, a curfew was enforced. Iraqi security forces stepped in with some success. Shaken Sunni and Shiite leaders appeared on television to urge restraint, and there appeared at least the semblance of reconciliation that may soon presage a viable coalition government.
But here at home you would have thought that our own capitol dome had exploded.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1587927/posts
I'm still baffled at how these lookbacks always ignore the impact that Powell's losing Turkey and the northen launch point for our forces has had on the overall war in Iraq. If we had a northern front and a southern front, we would have controlled the area that the terrorists fled to (and the border crossers came to) and we might not be seeing the entrenched insurgency that is there today.
-PJ
you do have a great point there
If blowing up the Golden Dome doesn't start a civil war, it's hard to think of something bigger that WOULD start a civil war. I just wish at some point we could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but that point hasn't come yet. We don't seem to have arrived at the point where the insurgency is noticeably diminished. The reason for that, I think, is that we are fighting more than terrorists, we are fighting nihilists. It's harder and harder for me to see the Zarquawi crowd as Muslims. When so-called Muslims blow up mosques, kill fellow Muslims, innocent civilians, babies and children, women, day after day, deliberately, I can only call it nihilism, not Islam. A nihilist is the most dangerous enemy because he has fallen in love with destruction for the sake of destruction. He will destroy the world rather than give up. The enemy is even more evil than Bush thought it was.
great point... some days I believe I "see light at the end of the tunnel" and some days I don't. It is a difficult and complex problem in the middle east. I agree with your point that there seem to be many nihilists bent on destruction. I think there is some of that within Islam itself. On the other hand I believe that many everyday common people would love to give democracy a try. Its come down to this... as the President said yesterday... time for the Iraqis people to choose. We've done about all we can. If it doesn't go well... thats not our fault.
The assassination of the beloved Iraqi Shiite Ayotollah Sistani would do it.
Sistani is the one who is calming down the Shiites. They listen to him. He is rarely seen in public for many years now because of an earlier assassination attempt before the war started. - Tom
Yes, I think you've hit on one thing that maybe could start a civil war.
. I hope Sistani can stay alive until we get out of Iraq. Of course we will keep some Military there for many years at a reduced level.
This was the third assassination attempt against Sistani and the first since the fall of president Saddam Hussein's government. - tom
BAGHDAD, 6 February 2004 — Violence continued unabated in Iraq yesterday on the eve of a visit by a UN team to negotiate an election date. Top Iraqi Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, escaped an assassination attempt and a US soldier was killed in an attack on a convoy.
bump & pings
Thanks. The VDH Ping List was pinged to this article posted here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1587602/posts
But, VDH can't be posted too many times. The more, the better.
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