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