Administration May Abandon Plan to Unify Iraq

[Bhaisahab]

WASHINGTON (Dec. 2) - The Bush administration is re-evaluating its efforts to unite Iraq's fractious sectarian and political factions in an attempt to preserve U.S. options in Iraq no matter what happens, officials familiar with an internal administration review of Iraq policy said Friday.

A senior U.S. official said that as part of that examination, the administration has debated whether to abandon U.S. efforts to bring Sunni insurgents into the political process to stabilize Iraq and instead leave that outreach to the majority Shiites and Iraq's third major group, the Kurds. No decision has been made.

Some U.S. officials have argued that the outreach to Sunni dissidents has failed and may be alienating Shiites, who dominate the government and are the country's largest sect.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the debate, said senior State Department officials have countered that ending U.S. attempts to increase the Sunni stake in government would leave the root causes of the insurgency unaddressed. Opponents of the strategy say that it could also appear the United States is taking sides in Iraq's sectarian divide and could alienate close U.S. allies in the region.

The administration has watched as its stated goal of helping the Iraqis erect a model democracy grew increasingly remote this year. Sectarian violence has intensified and thousands of Iraqis have fled their neighborhoods or left the country to escape tit-for-tat killings and kidnappings.

The administration's internal review may recommend a revamped U.S. approach that focuses less on the major Shiite and Sunni political factions in the Baghdad government and more on identifying U.S. interests across a diffuse power structure and reducing the U.S. role as middleman in some of the most contentious Iraqi political fights.

continued: http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/administration-may-abandon-plan-to-unify/20061201194409990006?ncid=NWS00010000000001

hope its not a dupe.

[pooja]

1. This administration had a plan???

[mallard]

2. Re: no suprise since that seems to have been the plan...

... since the invasion, disbanding the military, indiscriminant killing, torture and formation of ala Negroponte 'security' squads.

Not much of a surprise either that the Bush team would waste little time in contradicting the position taken at the just-finished Amman powwow.

That talk of no break-up of Iraq almost came off like an honest concession to the will of Iraqis themselves. Should have known better.

Seems like a divided Iraq has been the main item on the menu - carte noire - and W shrugs as if it were the last resort, which it almost is for all he really knows.

People who think Bush knew about 911 beforehand give him too much credit.

[whistle]

3. The Bush administration's plan has always been to divide and conquer