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| Topic: NYT's David Brooks on Iraq, and if Senator Biden's plan woul | |
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Brooks does a tidy job of summing up what's wrong in Iraq.
But then Brooks mentions a plan Senator Biden (now bereaved Vice President) had to decentralize control; give Iraqis a greater stake in the welfare of their territory. America’s goal should be to help lower sectarian temperatures so that eventually a moderating dynamic replaces the current brutalizing one. The grand strategy should be to help the two sides separate as much as possible while containing the radicals on each side. The tactic should be devolution. Give as much local control to different groups in different nations. Let them run their own affairs as much as possible. Encourage them to create space between the sectarian populations so that hatreds can cool. This was the core logic of the Biden/Gelb style decentralization plan, and it is still the most promising logic today. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/05/opinion/the-separation-strategy-on-iraq.html?rref=opinion&module=Ribbon&version=context®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=article The embarrassing rout by ISIL of the Iraqi military was exceedingly costly to the U.S. Some say a quarter of the U.S. lives lost in our War in Iraq were lost battling for Iraq territory now under ISIL control. The equipment the Iraqi military abandoned there $cost $U.S. $huge. And now it's in ISIL's hands. Thus it's now costing us $millions $more to blow it up with costly air strikes. Was Biden right all along? |
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Was Biden right all along? Uh, no. That sectarian hatred has been happening for more than 1000 years. If modern-day westerners think that they can come up with a magical solution to end the sectarian hatred, then they are just fooling themselves. |
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"Uh, no. That sectarian hatred has been happening for more than 1000 years." DD Alright. "If modern-day westerners think that they can come up with a magical solution to end the sectarian hatred, then they are just fooling themselves." DD But neither Brooks, nor Biden have suggested that. Instead, they can continue to hate one another to kingdom come. BUT !! a) When the Sunni in the upstairs apartment plays Muslim call to prayer too loud on the stereo, the Shi'ah in the apartment below needn't slit the upstairs guy's throat. He can bang on the ceiling with a broomstick. b) ISIL absolutely routed the Iraqi military. Why? Because Iraqi confidence in central government has eroded, and the Iraqi military members didn't think the weak federal leadership was worth dying for. BUT !! If instead of being a single federal force, the Iraqi military were regional militias: - One for Sunni, - One for Shi'ah, & - One for Kurds instead of cut & run, they'll stand and fight; SO WE WON'T HAVE TO!! It was never about: " a magical solution to end the sectarian hatred ". |
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