End the Violence in Iraq? End Our Occupation

[babylonsister]

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/23368

End the Violence in Iraq? End Our Occupation
Submitted by davidswanson on Wed, 2007-06-06 15:31. Media

Monday June 5, 2007 at Mohammed's House
By Dal LaMagna

snip//

"The Problem Is the Occupation"
The Sheik wasted no time to get to his point. The problem is the occupation, he said. The American Administration should have left as soon as they discovered there were no chemical weapons or weapons of mass destruction. But they continued the error - for the protection of Israel. There was an imagined danger that the Iraqi Army posed a threat to Israel.

(My note: Is this why Bremer sent the Iraqi Army home? A complaint of every Iraqi I have heard from since last August. )

The Sheik explained that the occupation continued because of arrogance and stubbornness. This lead to all the losses suffered by both the Iraqis and the Americans. Iran profited from it.

Is There a Civil War?
I asked him whether a civil war was now raging in Iraq. He said that the Iraqi people were pushed to have a civil war since the occupation. In the past two years, the American Administration, with Zalmay Khalilzad involved, pushed this. The leaders of the Shia and Kurdish groups - not the Kurdish people - pushed this.

They followed the idea of divide and rule through the political parties. This was political sectarianism, not religious sectarianism. These people manipulated ignorant, simple people.

"What leaders," I asked.

The Sheik said, "The leaders of the Badr and Dawa political parties. The Jafari and Maliki governments promoted this. It was the Bahdi, Mehdi, and Dawa militias.

He went on.

The majority of people, Sunni, Shia and Kurd - 80 percent of them - don't want this occupation. Nor do they want this government (My note: Maliki). They are fed up with the militias. The sectarian militias do not represent the Shia. Now there is a problem in the south of Iraq. Arab Shia are fighting the Safawids (My note: Persian Shia) who are backed by Iran.

lots more...

[panader0]

1. bush has said that we would leave if they wanted us to

Unfortunately, the Iraqis have about as much of a democracy as we do.

[babylonsister]

2. * is full of crap; he also said he listens to the military, but he only does

so when it suits him.

Possibly, Iraq will provide the tipping point:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1052292