DeadCanDance
Senior Member
- May 29, 2007
- 1,414
- 127
- 48
Paying off sunni warlords and insurgents, and letting rival shia militia run southern Iraq is not a long term viable solution. I suggest we stop spiking the ball in the end zone, and pretending we've won a "victory" in Iraq.
Clashes kill nearly 50 in southern Iraq
A series of recent high-profile attacks is eroding the security gains of the previous six months, when violence dropped across much of the country. The main insurgent group, al-Qaida in Iraq, has carried out many of the attacks against fellow Sunnis who have turned against it. But insurgents also struck with deadly suicide blasts this week against Shiites observing Ashoura.
Friday's clashes pointed to a third problem that shows no signs of easing: Shiites attacking fellow Shiites. The attacks were a reminder of persistent divisions within the Shiite community at a time when the Pentagon is claiming some success in calming armed opposition among the Sunnis.
Shiite factions have been engaged in a power struggle across southern Iraq. On Friday, two prominent Shiite leaders issued fresh challenges to the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.
Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr warned he may not extend a six-month cease-fire by his Mahdi Army militia, because security agencies are packed with "criminal gangs," his spokesman said in reference to Shiites from rival groups. The group's cease-fire, due to expire next month, has been a major factor in the reduction in violence.
And Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the head of parliament's largest Shiite political bloc, accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and legislators of allowing "personal whims" to delay national unity. He urged them to pass stalled legislation on provincial elections and the distribution of Iraq's oil wealth, seen as vital to bringing Sunnis into the political process and stemming support for the insurgency.
On a visit to Baghdad on Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that the recent reduction of violence could prove fleeting if the country's main groups do not reach an enduring agreement on the future of the country.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq