Feb 23, 2008

A lesson in self-government, Iraq-style


If, as the NYT article says, its all going to hell in the proverbial handbasket..then when will we be able to leave Iraq with a strong government?

Because supposedly, that is all we are waiting for now right? Our soldiers get to stand down when the Iraqi's stand up. From the opening paragraph in the NYT article linked above:

This southern port city has been, in effect, on its own since September, when British forces here moved to the outskirts, yielding authority to local leaders. British and American officials say Basra's experiment in self-rule could serve as a model for Iraq's future, but if so — many locals and outside advisers say — that future remains dark.


For five months Basra, Iraq's second largest city, has been under self-rule. Its not going well..to put it bluntly, its quite the nightmare. Even under optimal conditions such as the best economy, the least amount of ethnic in-fighting and no Westerners running the show Basra is still a horror. How much daily horror you might ask..well the NYT article will enlighten you:

Disappearances of doctors, teachers and other professionals are common, as are some clashes among competing militias, most of which are linked to political parties. Murder victims include judicial investigators, politicians and tribal sheiks. One especially disturbing trend is the slaying of at least 100 women in the last year, according to the police. The Iraqi authorities have blamed Shiite militiamen for many of those killing, saying the militants had probably deemed the women to be impious.


Well, pardon me for pointing out the obvious..but this is the same shit just a different city. Once left to their own device's, the Iraqi's still can't figure out how to get along with each other and ..not only that but everyone their father wants to be the party in charge. Murder and mayhem still rule the day and Basra has taken another giant step backward into the days of tents and warlords gunning down rival leaders in order to assert their brand of power and religion over the entire region.

Its a long, exhausting writeup..but an important piece of information in how the war in Iraq is really going. And its not going well my dear reader..not by a long-friggin-shot. I don't care what the Idiot-in-Chief tells you.

Telling us there are less dead people today than yesterday, or last month or last year doesn't cut it. Its all bs and bravado dressed up to represent whatever will sell best to the American public in order to continue the insane amount of our money and soldiers being poured into this country.

Well..I ain't buying. Nope..

Crossposted at UnCapitalist Journal

Today's Photo..er..Graphic..ok, Picture.

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