No Civil War in Iraq
RealClearPolitics - Commentary - by Jack Kelly
“The Iraqi military and police forces have held together and they are doing their jobs,” Maj. Connable said. “In 2004, the Iraqi military and police all but collapsed. The fact that Shia soldiers who make up the vast majority of the troops have stayed at their posts, held back the Shia militiamen, and prevented an increase in violence is remarkable. This should be one of the feature stories on the nightly news, but it barely received mention.”Those danged Iraqis. They continue to disappoint by failing to be disappointing. Could it be that most of them value freedom, democracy and peace as much as white Christians do?
Read the whole thing. I will certainly admit to being concerned at what the bombing of the golden mosque could precipitate. It was obviously intended to provoke a sectarian conflict, and while I have a great deal of faith in the Iraqi people, there was clearly a chance that it could succeed.
The difficult for those responsible is that such a tactic is risky. It will either provoke the conflict they desire, or result in a coming together and greater fusing of the population. It appears to me that the second has occured, and Iraqi nationalism is stronger now than it was before this act of barbarism.
