MSNBC News ServicesUpdated: 11:05 a.m. ET Feb. 23, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - More than 130 people, including dozens who joined a demonstration against sectarian violence, were killed in bloodshed across Iraq despite calls for calm on Thursday from leaders, including President Bush, fearful of civil war.
A day after a suspected al-Qaida bomb destroyed a major Shiite shrine, Iraq cancelled all leave for the police and army and minority Sunni political leaders pulled out of U.S.-backed talks on forming a national unity government, accusing the ruling Shiites of fomenting dozens of attacks on Sunni mosques.
Washington, which wants stability in Iraq to help it extract around 130,000 U.S. troops, has also called for restraint, reflecting international fears that the oil-exporting country of 27 million may be slipping closer to all-out sectarian war.
GOI: Despite the horrible violence I think the biggest problem is the Sunni pull-out of the U.S. backed talks to form a unity government. If such a government can not be formed then a broader civil war would most likely occur as most Sunni would probably see the political course non-prouductive and biased toward the Shiite population. This could then easily push more moderate Sunni into the streets to take up violence as their only way to put forth their demands and voice their opposition.
We would most likely then see more and more militias growing an forming in both the Shia and Sunni populations. Thus increasing the chance of an already low-level civil war turning into a full blown civil war. Things are sliding into the abyss rapidly over there an there is nothing that our military can really do about it without creating more problems then solutions.
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3 comments:
James,
I agree that there is way America can do much to help the situation, now.
But as happened in the former-Yugoslavia, the best course might be a quick bust-up of the country into three pieces.
The Sunnis would feel screwed, living on land where there is little oil -- and how that would resolve itself is impossible to tell.
But I cannot see how leaving American soldiers in this chaos and madness can possible do anything but harm.
Let America get out, quickly.
I confess that I had hope at the time that Saddam's rule was ended that American could do significant good. Maybe, had another president been at the helm, things would not have gotten so bad so fast and so absolutely.
Bush is an incredibly terrible president. Is there any hope that he will do the right thing now?
Yep- inching closer toward civil war in Iraq...and the media is covering:
The who-gives-a-fuck figure skating twirl-off on MSNBC.com
The missing white teen who will not fucking go away on ABC's Primetime
CNN.com went apeshit over the powerball winners...
Just civil war where half our army is. Nothing to see here. Move along, Martha Stewart is making roses out of pipe cleaners today.
Tom:
I think that you are right that eventually Iraq will bust up.
I agree that we have gone to far to fix things now I'm afraid.
Jeremy:
Ha! You crack me up! You are SO right about the press.
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