Galbraith: Why "the surge" can't work (hint: the Dems have it wrong) - The Diigo Meta page

• 27 Feb 07
  

  kevin whited

  The second part is right.

  International Politics Misc

  • Bush's strategy assumes that Iraq's Shiite-led government can become a force for national unity and that Iraqi security forces can, once trained, be neutral guarantors of public safety. There is no convincing basis for either proposition. The Bush administration's inability to grasp the realities of Iraq is, in no small measure, owing to its unwillingness to acknowledge that Iraq is in the middle of a civil war.  As everyone except Bush seems to understand, Iraq's Shiite-led government has no intention of transforming itself into an inclusive government of national unity. The parties that lead Iraq define themselves—and the state they now control—by their Shiite identity.
  • Bush's strategy assumes that Iraq's Shiite-led government can become a force for national unity and that Iraqi security forces can, once trained, be neutral guarantors of public safety. There is no convincing basis for either proposition. The Bush administration's inability to grasp the realities of Iraq is, in no small measure, owing to its unwillingness to acknowledge that Iraq is in the middle of a civil war.  As everyone except Bush seems to understand, Iraq's Shiite-led government has no intention of transforming itself into an inclusive government of national unity. The parties that lead Iraq define themselves—and the state they now control—by their Shiite identity.
  • Bush's strategy assumes that Iraq's Shiite-led government can become a force for national unity and that Iraqi security forces can, once trained, be neutral guarantors of public safety. There is no convincing basis for either proposition. The Bush administration's inability to grasp the realities of Iraq is, in no small measure, owing to its unwillingness to acknowledge that Iraq is in the middle of a civil war.  As everyone except Bush seems to understand, Iraq's Shiite-led government has no intention of transforming itself into an inclusive government of national unity. The parties that lead Iraq define themselves—and the state they now control—by their Shiite identity.
  • Bush's strategy assumes that Iraq's Shiite-led government can become a force for national unity and that Iraqi security forces can, once trained, be neutral guarantors of public safety. There is no convincing basis for either proposition. The Bush administration's inability to grasp the realities of Iraq is, in no small measure, owing to its unwillingness to acknowledge that Iraq is in the middle of a civil war.  As everyone except Bush seems to understand, Iraq's Shiite-led government has no intention of transforming itself into an inclusive government of national unity. The parties that lead Iraq define themselves—and the state they now control—by their Shiite identity.

  2 more annotations...

• 25 Feb 07
  

  Nathan Rein

  Former Ambassador Peter Galbraith explains why Democratic critiques of Bush's "surge" strategy miss the real point, which is not the numbers. We're broadening the mission in a way calculated to spark Shiite-vs.-Kurd violence across Iraq.

  bushies commentary conservatives del.icio.us_import iraq military opinion war

Would you like to comment?

Join Diigo for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.