[Peace-discuss] an Irish letter-to-the-editor on Iraq

[John W.]

You don't often see this type of informed letter in an American 
newspaper.  Thanks for sharing.

Hope you and Karen enjoyed your trip, Stuart.

John Wason



At 01:36 PM 10/7/2007, Stuart Levy wrote:


>Karen Medina and I were recently in Ireland (and the UK),
>and three days' worth of reading what seems to be
>the main Irish national paper -- the Irish Times --
>turned up *two* LTEs about Iraq.
>
>
>Here's the more substantial letter, from a Dubliner,
>published Tuesday, Sep 25th:
>
>             Shallow US optimism on Iraq
>
>    Charles Krauthammer displays boundless -- and groundless --
>optimism when he suggests that Gen. David Petraeus can defeat al-Qaeda
>in Iraq (Opinion, September 17).
>
>    The fact that al-Qaeda is operating in Iraq at all is a by-product
>of the US-led invasion and occupation.  The secularist Ba'ath Party
>absolutely excluded extremists pursuing Islamist ideologies, so the
>only group pursuing an ultra-orthodox interpretation of Islam in Iraq
>up to March 2003 was Ansar al-Islam, based in Kurdistan, well beyond
>the reach of Baghdad's forces.
>
>    The invasion itself created conditions under which al-Qaeda could
>establish a foothold close to Baghdad, and recent events in Anbar show
>that the entire might of the occupation forces cannot prevent al-Qaeda
>from staging spectacular strikes against its enemies.
>
>    During this year, a tribal leader named Sheikh Abdul Sittar Bezea
>al-Rishawi has led a campaign to drive al-Qaeda out of Anbar.  During
>a brief stop at a US air force base in Iraq on September 3rd,
>President Bush acknowledge Sittar's achievements: "When you stand on
>the ground here in Anbar and hear from the people who live here, you
>can see what the future of Iraq can look like."  Afterwards he shook
>hands with Sittar.
>
>    Gen. Petraeus repeated this upbeat message during testimony to the
>US Congress on the recent anniversary of 9/11, describing Sittar's
>achievement as a "model of what happens when local leaders and
>citizens start to defy al-Qaeda".  Two days later, Sittar was killed
>by a roadside bomb -- apparently assassinated by al-Qaeda.
>
>    So this is the US model for the future of Iraq?  Far from defeating
>al-Qaeda, the US occupation provides Islamists with ideal conditions
>for recruiting and training fighters to overthrow Mr. Bush's friends
>in the house of Al-Saud, and does nothing to prevent al-Qaeda cells
>elsewhere from planning new bombings in other parts of the world.
>
>    Gen. Petraeus knows this.  When he appeared before the Senate armed
>services committee this month, Republican Senator John Warner asked
>him about his strategy: "Does that make America safer?"  Petraeus
>replied: "Sir, I don't know, actually..."  So: Krauthammer's comments
>bear no resemblance to the realities of defeating al-Qaeda in Iraq or
>anywhere else in the world, and every resemblance to a propagandum
>formulated by staff at the White House to justify a military strategy
>whose chances of success are next to nil.
>
>    As usual, Krauthammer tells us nothing about Iraq, and everything
>about Washington.
>
>   COILÍN Ó hAISEADHA
>   Bóther Inse Chór,
>   Cill Mhaigneann,
>   Baile Átha Cliath 8