G
gilliam
Guest
Bill Roggio’s last two posts from Iraq, Patrolling Haqlaniyah and On the Offensive in Ramadi describe a situation in which military operations have become a handmaiden to politics. Not American politics primarily , but Iraqi politics. For a sense of what that kind of politicking looks like Iraq the Model’s synopsis at Pajamas Media is close to the best. Basically, the various tribes, religious and ethnic groups (even the Christians) are maneuvering for votes: including, surprise, surprise, the Sunni insurgents. “The new and interesting thing in this election is the large-scale participation of Sunni parties for the first time. These parties think they have a good chance to win many seats in the parliament.”
So it is less and less surprising that suicide attacks, such as the blast in a bus killing 30 people or the one which killed nearly the same number at a police academy involve Iraqis on Iraqis. It’s no longer war, properly understood, but politics Middle-Eastern style. (BTW the word “Iraqis” is consciously used knowing it conceals a multitude of differences. For a discussion on how Arabs aren’t all the same see Michael J. Totten) The purely military war in Iraq is over and America has won. The US casualty count carefully kept at Global Security has never gone back to its 2004 levels and (in my view) probably never will. But though the politics may be bloody, the dynamics of the electoral arena described by Iraq the Model suggest something quite revolutionary has taken place. But more important than all of this is the fact that in these few years, we have witnessed the birth of a sensibility that was buried for decades – Iraqi patriotism. This sense is currently represented in three political alliances/parties that ignore the ethnic and sectarian issues in their platforms. Relatively speaking, they are looking at Iraq as a whole.
Factions are struggling for control of Iraq through the ballot. Assisted by bombs, intimidation, bribery, and disinformation it’s true, but through the ballot. In this atmosphere, the carnival trial of Saddam Hussein almost makes sense, right down to the surreal presence of his defense attorney Ramzi Clark (spelling courtesy of Hammorabi).
Read the rest
So it is less and less surprising that suicide attacks, such as the blast in a bus killing 30 people or the one which killed nearly the same number at a police academy involve Iraqis on Iraqis. It’s no longer war, properly understood, but politics Middle-Eastern style. (BTW the word “Iraqis” is consciously used knowing it conceals a multitude of differences. For a discussion on how Arabs aren’t all the same see Michael J. Totten) The purely military war in Iraq is over and America has won. The US casualty count carefully kept at Global Security has never gone back to its 2004 levels and (in my view) probably never will. But though the politics may be bloody, the dynamics of the electoral arena described by Iraq the Model suggest something quite revolutionary has taken place. But more important than all of this is the fact that in these few years, we have witnessed the birth of a sensibility that was buried for decades – Iraqi patriotism. This sense is currently represented in three political alliances/parties that ignore the ethnic and sectarian issues in their platforms. Relatively speaking, they are looking at Iraq as a whole.
Factions are struggling for control of Iraq through the ballot. Assisted by bombs, intimidation, bribery, and disinformation it’s true, but through the ballot. In this atmosphere, the carnival trial of Saddam Hussein almost makes sense, right down to the surreal presence of his defense attorney Ramzi Clark (spelling courtesy of Hammorabi).
Read the rest