Iraq not on verge of civil war: US commander

[Eugene]

Iraq not on verge of civil war: US commander

By Will Dunham 2 hours, 29 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - This week's surge in violence is "an anomaly" and Iraq is not on the verge
of civil war, the top U.S. commander there said on Friday, after one of the country's bloodiest days
since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

"This level of violence, I think as we've seen, is an anomaly. We see these spikes periodically,"
Army Gen. George Casey said on CNN.

On Thursday, suicide bombers in Kerbala and Ramadi killed more than 120 Iraqis, and 11 U.S. troops
died in four insurgent attacks.

<snip>

Casey, in Washington for meetings with President George W. Bush and Pentagon leaders, differed
with remarks made on Tuesday by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who preceded him as top commander in Iraq
before leaving in 2004.

"The country's on the verge of a civil war," Sanchez told soldiers preparing to deploy to Iraq
during a ceremony in Heidelberg, Germany, the military affairs newspaper Stars and Stripes reported.

<snip>

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060106/ts_nm/iraq_usa_commanders_dc_1

[Maeve]

1. So stop saying that!!!! eom

[pfitz59]

22. Gen. Boudelang speaks..........

EOM

[Thorandmjolnir]

2. How can it be an anomaly if they have seen it before?

"This level of violence, I think as we've seen, is an anomaly. We see these spikes periodically," Army Gen. George Casey said on CNN."

Definition:

Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.

[politicaholic]

3. What a friggin' joke...

not only that, but isn't the country split by religious lines with clearly defined leaders and seperate specific agendas?

That's not a civil war, they don't have uniforms...

:banghead:

[Warren Stupidity]

6. Its a periodic anomaly that is predictable and expected.

I don't know why you have a problem with that. It is uniquely ordinary to have exceptional situations like this occur all the time.

See we are winning see. How many times do we have to tell you that?

[Javaman]

10. It's an anomaly now, it will be routine later...n/t

[Flabbergasted]

4. So what is when one ethnic group kills another in a single country...

for political reasons? A party perhaps?

[theoldman]

5. I guess it depends on how you define a civil war.

What other name can you use when people within a country are killing each other in order to gain political power. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck etc.

[truthisfreedom]

19. if it has duck DNA, it is a duck.

[baby_mouse]

7. So, it IS, then.

I think it's time for a giant "I TOLD YOU SO!" sign to be placed directly opposite the White House.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. On the Verge: right before the start.

The verge is well behind us.

[0007]

9. "Unconventionality" has a lot do with

the phase of the moon, and Saturn's rising.

I think Rumsfeld is well versed in the arts of reading the tea leaf. But in my opinion the Pentagon is is need of a a first class gastrologist, or something like that!

[Walt Starr]

11. Yeah, not on the verge but in full blown active mode! n/t

[GoddessOfGuinness]

17. ding!

Nailed it.

[Posteritatis]

12. Pacific Ocean not on verge of moisture (n/t)

[u4ic]

21. Welcome to DU!

Fellow Canuck! :hi:

[MidwestTransplant]

13. somebody is trying hard to keep their job.

[allemand]

14. Iraq Violence May Provoke Shiite Backlash

By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer 4 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A spree of bloodshed that killed nearly 200 people in two days, including 11 U.S. troops, threatened to provoke a backlash from Shiite militias. Iraq's largest religious group rallied thousands Friday against what it claimed was American backing for some Sunni Arab politicians they say have supported insurgents. (...)

In Baghdad's Sadr City slum and in its northern Kazimiyah suburb, thousands of angry Shiites rallied to condemn twin suicide attacks Thursday that killed at least 136 people, including the U.S. troops.

The protesters also denounced what they claimed was American backing for Sunni Arabs politicians who have supported insurgent groups and are now protesting that last month's elections were tainted by fraud. (...)

The rallies and threats by the Iraq's largest Shiite religious party to react with force if the militant attacks continue have renewed fears that paramilitary militias — now thought to make up part of some elite police units_ would take to the streets and carry out reprisals.

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060106/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_060106183506

[HuffleClaw]

15. so, they still are incapable of keeping 'on message' ?

which means bush's clout with his minions is no longer what it was.

[VegasWolf]

16. Sky is blue!! Sun shining in Iraq says US Commander! Repeat 100 times.

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[American liberal]

18. actually...

I heard Robert Fisk on NPR a while back hawking his new book (all 1100+ pages of it). If you're not hip to Fisk, he's an unembedded British journalist who lives in Lebonon and has been covering the Middle East for the past 30 years. He hates Bush and doesn't seem to care for Blair either. Anyways, he said that Iraq is not poised for civil war, that it is the West that keeps positing such a scenario. The insurgency is about the occupation of Iraq by U.S. and allied forces.

I've read quite a bit of his work. He's a quality, if not a bit emotional, journalist. Plus he has intimate knowledge of the region, having made it his home for the past 30 years. (He covered the Afghani war, the Iran/Iraq war, Desert Storm...) And he calls it like he sees it. It's an unpopular perspective, but I trust it a lot more than anyone's in the Bush admin.

[No Exit]

20. I'm glad to hear that.

But even if they WERE "poised for civil war", our presence still does nothing but make the situation worse.