No One Venturing ... Absolutely Nothing Gained

5 December 2006

President Bush met with Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. This was another attempt by Bush to get Iraqis to step up. And again the response fell grossly short.  Personally, I dont think that it was a total failure, things were said that I think the US should use in Iraq and with the Iraqi government.
First, Aziz al-Hakim told the press that he did not think that the American troops were conducting decisive strikes against the insurgents, that stronger actions needed to be taken. I have to agree with him on that one, however, as is usually the case he wants these tactics to be used not against ALL militias and insurgents, just the ones that are loyal to Saddam Hussein. He denied that Shitie militias are fueling the sectarian violence. Wonder where he gets his news, not only are the Shiite militias conducting major and numerous strikes against Sunnis, they are blackmailing and intimidating the Iraq government. This would be the same government that their political arms are in the majority, that is enough to make any Iraqi, especially one of other than Shiite affiliation apprehensive.
Again, I say they need to turn loose of this revenge mode left over from Hussein's regime. This is a NEW Iraq, one for ALL Iraqis. The international community as a whole needs to apply pressure to the Iraqis to step-up and be bigger problem solvers than they have been. If the Iraq government really wants to be respected in the international arena then they need to start acting like a fair and just government. Al-Sadr and his militia need to be removed--there does not appear to be any way to work with this cleric in the new government. He IS NOT part of the solution, he IS part of the problem, a major part.
Someone, actually EVERYONE, in the Iraqi government needs to realize how much easier their jobs would be if al-Sadr and his militia were removed from the picture. It does not take some in-depth analysis of the situation to see that more than half of the problems have one source. Sure the whole situation is complex and difficult, but the idea of making it more complex or giving up and accepting him as a factor is just unacceptable at this point. Al-Sadr was given the opportunity to be a player at the table to help move Iraq forward, that is not his desire, he does not want to see Iraq move forward, he wants to see Iraq move backwards, he has his own agenda and it is in no way in line with a safe and secure Iraq for ALL Iraqis. That in and of itself is enough to make him an obstacle that needs to be removed.
"The strikes [the insurgents] are getting from the multinational forces are not hard enough to put an end to their acts, but leave them to stand up again to resume their criminal acts," Hakim said in a speech at the United States Institute of Peace. "This means that there is something wrong in the policies taken to deal with that danger threatening the lives of Iraqis."
I have to agree with Hakim on the fact that there is something wrong in the policies. Where we disagree is what it is that is wrong. He wants tougher strikes that eliminate the Sunni/Baathist militias, leaving the shiite ones in tact. I want the policies to be applied equally, every militia needs to be at least disarmed, more effectively they need to be eliminated. Think about this, if US troops were to surround a Sunni neighborhood and wipe-it out the Iraq government would claim a victory against the insurgents, however, if the same US troops applied the same policy against Sadr City, the outrage would be intense and extreme. This one hypocrisy makes peace in Iraq under the current government a basic impossibility.
The Iraq leaders want Iraq problems to be solved by Iraqis and I am all for that, they should be they are the best qualified to solve the problems, but they have to have the strength and determination to do it and so far Im not seeing it.
Am I frustrated? You bet I am. Am I ready to cut and run? Hell no!
Rome was not built in a day and neither will Iraq be. The common Iraq family needs to be able to live in peace and security. We need for that to be our only mission. I do think that we could stand to bang some heads together in the next Iraqi cabinet meeting, but we know that is not going to happen!! Maybe Allah can help us out with that one.