The realists and their Sunni (paymasters?) are at it again. They have sent up another trial balloon in this week’s Businessweek. They report “good” news form Iraq:
Until recently it has been almost pointless to try to negotiate with the insurgents, who are fragmented into dozens of groups. But that may be changing. One group that is emerging and gaining influence is the Iraqi National Foundation Congress, an anti-occupation organization that includes secular, Shiite, and Sunni groups. The Congress, which has lines into the insurgency, plans to hold a conference in Beirut soon with the aim of establishing a broad front against the American occupation. Such activity may sound ominous, but analysts say the formation of a political wing that can speak for the insurgency is vital for any peace process. . . .
How hard will the U.S. push the Shiite-dominated government to make a deal with its rivals? Analysts think it will respect the fact that Jaafari & Co. were duly elected and let them run their own affairs — another reason why turning Iraq around will be a long, bloody process.
In other words, if we only forgot about the 8 million people who risked their lives to vote and turned the country over to those who consider that vote illegitimate, we could have solved the problem. But silly us, we actually think that power should come from the ballot box and not from the barrel of a gun.
I can only hope that Lebanon will not be as ungrateful as to serve as a host to a blatantly anti American conference. The chutzpah!
P.S. Iraq is no longer occupied and neither are Germany, South Korea or the Philippines.
posted by Judith
The Dish 