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Bullish on Iraq — 10 Comments

  1. SEE! She can’t even get the right aircraft carrier!

    Neo LIED! Typos DIED! Eggs were FRIED! Children CRIED! NSA SPIED! Judges TRIED! Princess BRIDE! cp had a TIRADE! oops, …. never mind. -cp (have a good weekend, Neo).

  2. The situation in Iraq is a tough one for all parties involved. The government is young and has a long way to go. Some young governments have flourished. For example after the Singing Revolution Estonia’s standard of living has improved. I just saw a website about it — http://singingrevolution.com The circumstances are different in Iraq but it doesn’t hurt to learn from other governments.

  3. There are core issues, I would suggest. There is no indication Iraq was ever anything but a failed state ready for fragmentation much the same as other artificial states held together by force. The natural regionalization of Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite regions might provide the basis for a loose federal system and enable cooperation at some level. Where the mMarsh Arabs or the fighting Shiite subsets fit in is added complexity that may or may not have reasonable solutions. The most effective and stable region is clearly the Kurdish dominated areas and if some agreements can be worked with the Turks, long term stability is ceretain. Although Sunni themselves, the Kurds may not get on well with the Sunni Arabs, and some means of separation would only help, not hinder stability. The Shiites ate the loose cards in this deck unfortunately, and are likely the major vehicle for Iranian penetration. Fortunately, there is no deep affection between the Arab Shiites and the Iranians and that can be a break on Iranian influence. It is a mess, but some stability may be salvaged if regionalism is the basis of stability.

  4. I think your former and latter are mixed up.

    Former:Those who consider the country to be a chaotic failure today
    Latter:“…those whom they criticize.”

    “The former are wrong because they expected it to be too easy.”

    I think that’s those being criticized, no? Those who hoped things would go better than they did.

    “The latter are wrong because they demanded it.”

    And they those who think Iraq is chaos, correct? Demanding clean, neat, quick wars, or none at all…

  5. I think douglas is right.

    The lament “you said it would be easy!” always makes me want to shake the person who said it and tell them to use their own brain. Who in their right mind would assume this would be easy or quick? Never mind what someone else said, what do *you* think is a reasonable time frame for a new government to settle down into stability?

    Also…

    The Kurds are to Arab Sunni…

    as the Persians are to Arab Shia.

    The idea that the Arab Shia are naturally inclined to want to be ruled by Persians on the basis that they are both Shia is like believing that the Arab Sunni want to be ruled by the Kurds because the Kurds are Sunni.

  6. Pingback:War’s Aftermath « Sake White

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