[lit-ideas] Re: The Iraq Study Group (ISR)
- From: "Andreas Ramos" <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 09:37:00 -0800
I also haven't read the report yet, but here is a commentary by an Iraqi.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-iraq/baker_report_4164.jsp
The summary is quite good. It is a balanced summary.
But the final assessment draws incorrect conclusions:
The Baker-Hamilton commission, while rejecting President Bush's "stay the course", is
highly suspect. Fundamentally, United States failure in Iraq has bankrupted it of any
meaningful authority, and its continued presence merely reinforces sectarian violence and
social disorder. The rhetoric of diplomatic engagement and resolution of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be encouraging, but it is doubtful that any substantive
action will proceed on that front. Ultimately, "national reconciliation" and social
reconstruction cannot move forward in the presence of US coercion and violence.
1) The "United States" conflates several different groups in the USA into one (Bush). It's
correct that Bush's failure has bankrupted him of authority. However, there are other
political and diplomatic forces in the USA that could create a solution.
2) The final lines ("the presence of US coercion and violence") are precisely what the ISG
report urges that the US must avoid. The conflict can not be resolved with force (which will
only increase the conflict). Thus the ISG recommends a political and diplomatic solution.
yrs,
andreas
www.andreas.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
