Comments Posted By Tom Maguire
Displaying 1 To 2 Of 2 Comments
Kondracke is wrong on so many levels it is beyond belief that he isn’t just throwing this out in order to initiate discussion about what next in Iraq.
We'll pencil you in as "undecided".
Meanwhile, everything new is old again - the Time and WaPo kicked around the 80 percent soultion last December. From one story:
The administration is also debating whether to back a Shiite government in the conflict with the Sunnis, or to seek a new strategy for national reconciliation between Sunni and Shiite factions that would be intended to expand the political base of Mr. Maliki, at Mr. Sadr’s expense.
Some members of the administration, including some in Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, have argued that the administration needs to provide clear support to a strong Shiite majority government, but the State Department, led by Condoleezza Rice, views that as a recipe for perpetual civil war. Ms. Rice has instead advocated a proposal intended to woo centrist Sunni leaders to Mr. Maliki’s side, including provincial leaders. One senior administration official said reports of internal arguments on this issue were “overblown†because “everyone believes in national reconciliation.â€
Or an earlier WaPo version, which put the onus on State (Laura Rozen disputed that, IIRC):
The Bush administration is deliberating whether to abandon U.S. reconciliation efforts with Sunni insurgents and instead give priority to Shiites and Kurds, who won elections and now dominate the government, according to U.S. officials.
The proposal, put forward by the State Department as part of a crash White House review of Iraq policy, follows an assessment that the ambitious U.S. outreach to Sunni dissidents has failed. U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that their reconciliation efforts may even have backfired, alienating the Shiite majority and leaving the United States vulnerable to having no allies in Iraq, according to sources familiar with the State Department proposal.
Some insiders call the proposal the "80 percent" solution, a term that makes other parties to the White House policy review cringe. Sunni Arabs make up about 20 percent of Iraq's 26 million people.
That said - there have been reports that in Anbar Province we are getting good cooperation from the Sunni tribes in opposition to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, so it seems like an odd time to ditch the Sunnis.
Comment Posted By Tom Maguire On 11.05.2007 @ 21:19
Ever fickle, I have now switched my allegiance become a HUGE Cleveland fan, since it is already Mission Accomplished for the Yanks.
But I can't wait to see Jenks and Mariano settle this - then we will see what a closer looks like.
Comment Posted By Tom Maguire On 2.10.2005 @ 12:12
