All that is ordinary. What is fascinating is this quote from an Iraqi who wants us out:
Ashraf Fawzi, a secondary student in northern Kirkuk, disagreed: "American forces must leave at once, without any timetable. They brought us sectarianism, which we had never heard of before. The Iraqi security forces can protect us."
So, slaughtering Shias and bulldozing them into mass graves wasn't sectarianism. Nor was gassing Kurds. It was only when we got rid of Saddam that sectarianism reared its ugly head in Iraq.
Let me take a shot in the dark here. Fawzi is a Sunni Arab, right? Because it isn't sectarianism if Sunni Arabs are killing Shias and Kurds.
Remember that reconciliation doesn't just consist of getting the Shias and Kurds to allow Sunni Arabs back into Iraqi society. Reconciliation means more Sunni Arabs have to lose that attitude that they are natural rulers of mere Shias and Kurds. The attitude expressed has got to go.
UPDATE SHORTLY AFTER POSTING: Our press needs to adjust their attitude toward the Sunni Arabs, too:
Throughout the country, al-Qaida in Iraq, an insurgent organization thought to be affiliated with the global terrorist network but comprised mainly of Iraqis, has lost so much clout it is close to becoming irrelevant to the outcome of the war. The group has not been eliminated, however, leaving open the possibility of resurgence if the Iraqi government fails to follow up the military gains with civilian services like the irrigation that's badly needed here.
I don't know why it is less al Qaeda for recruiting locally in Iraq. But I digress.
More to the point, why is it accepted that lack of irrigation is reason enough for Sunnis to build and detonate car bombs in crowds of Shia civilians?
