Juan Cole:You have a civil war now

[kpete]

(Great interview - this is just a snippet)

MT: You're talking about a civil war?



Cole: You have a civil war now. It's an unconventional civil war. When you have 22 people show up in the streets in the morning with bullets behind their ears, it's a civil war. They were captured and killed by a local militia. The militia can't do it openly during the day, or we would scramble AC-130s and take them out.



In the absence of any outside military force, I think the possibility of an all-out conventional civil war would be high, and I'm not saying that the Sunni Arabs would necessarily win it, but they think they can win it.


http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=8917

[HereSince1628]

1. Iraq descends into 'TROUBLES,' that will not disappear soon

I expect this to boil and bubble at least as long as the problems in N. Ireland.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. An excellent interview with Cole

I think he's better at explaining the Middle East than anyone - even Robert Fisk.