DAYS

Thursday, February 23, 2006

MEANWHILE, BACK IN HELL...
Hey, remember the argument from the Right that went like this? "We can't withdraw our troops in Iraq because it would result in all out Civil War and would be irresponsible to the people of Iraq." Well, what say ye now Bushbots? Despite our continued presence in Iraq, it appears that all-out Civil War has erupted anyway. From Dan Murphy:

An attack Wednesday that destroyed the soaring gold dome of one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines is being interpreted by most Shiites here as a direct attack on their faith - and has sharply raised sectarian tensions.

It's unclear if any people were killed in the massive explosion in Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. But the destruction of the shrine may be the most emotionally charged of attacks on Shiite targets thus far in the war, and could set back already hamstrung efforts to form a government of Shiite and Sunni unity.

As citizens deserted the streets of Baghdad in the wake of the attack, many said they feared this could be a seminal moment in Iraq's low-intensity civil war.

"The war could really be on now,'' says Abu Hassan, a Shiite street peddler who declined to give his full name. "This is something greater and more symbolic than attacks on people. This is a strike at who we are."

The very knowledgable and reasoned Juan Cole referred to this development as "apocalyptic" and claims "the threat of terrorism and attacks on Americans just went way up." Since the bombing at the Akariya shrine in Samarra, the whole of Iraq has exploded in a massive wave of violence.

Sectarian violence killed more than 130 people across Iraq and left dozens of mosques damaged or in ruins as the United States appealed on Thursday to Sunnis and Shi'ites to step back from the brink of civil war.

Among the dead were 47 people, apparently both Sunnis and Shi'ites, whom gunmen dragged from vehicles after they attended a demonstration to show cross-sectarian solidarity near Baghdad.
After discussions with Shi'ites, Kurds and leaders of a smaller Sunni group, he [President Jalal Talabani] told a televised news conference that if all-out war came "no one will be safe".

And our young men and women are caught right in the middle of this with nothing to do but duck and cover, hope they don't make things worse and try to get out alive. But don't worry, the perpetrators of this violence are in their 'last throes', so everything should be just fine.

Things appear to be past the point of no return, with more than 90 mosques attacked and burned in a matter of hours, armed militias in the streets and a sectarian rift that has climbed to the very top of the newly elected government. But the Bush administration says there's nothing to worry about. "Civil War? What Civil War? Pish posh."

This is the result of the Bush administration's inability to see the world in any way but their own. Since day one, these idiots in charge of our foreign policy haven't understood the hornet's nest they were stirring up. It's not as if no one warned them about the potential for civil war, the fragile nature of Iraq's ethnic and religious make-up. But they refused to listen, they insisted that if we went in, guns ablazing, tore down a statue, and offered candy, cash and bootleg DVDs to the people on the street, the entire region would come around to our way of thinking. This ignorant misunderstanding of the region has brought us to this point, a point of no return.

But let's not forget, at least George W. respects our troops. Need proof? How about statements like this, to the mother of a slain soldier about her son: “How do you know his life would have been good?”

Know what that is? That's Compassionate Conservatism at work, that's what that is. God, what a dick.

Sick and tired of this bullshit? Mad as hell? Can't take it anymore? Do something about it. Contact your congressman. Push to Censure Bush and Cheney. And learn about why we should and how we can impeach these motherfuckers. It's way past time.