Quotes of the day

Iraqi Shiites, including Maliki, are Shiites first.
Iraqi Sunnis are Sunnis first.
Kurds are Kurds first.

The die was cast long ago. Now the tragedy is just playing out and American troops involvement in it prolonged.

MB4 on August 17, 2007 at 12:48 AM

I have read somewhere that even southern Iraqi Shia distrust Iran, because of the Iraq-Iran wars of the 1980s.

But I have also read elsewhere that, for all practical purposes, southern Iraq is in fact an Iranian de facto province. Your above comments would be in line with this.

I remember reading, I think, that Bryan Preston argued against the division of Iraq into 3 separate states.

My earlier comment was intended to raise the question of, “at what point do conservatives rebel against a GOP President precisely because his GOP policies on Iraq are not really conservative?”

I do not know the answer.

ColtsFan on August 17, 2007 at 12:57 AM

You would see right away how vacuous and jejune are such remarks. But for some reason, those “counterinsurgency experts” who make such statements, and then as well think they are little-lawrence-of-arabias with their knowledge of the “Sunni tribes” and their ability to really get to know those sheikhs because they are aware of how to sit, and which hand to use, and what formula to utter, and how to listen patiently as the local Arab, who knows exactly how to manipulate the American army officer who is under the impression that it is he, the American, who is doing the manipulating, presents his wish-list for still more money, still more of those nice advanced American weapons and, oh yes, some more raids by American soldiers on that particular sheikh’s particular enemies, whether or not they belong to Al Qaeda, which is not, pace Patraeus and Bush, the only problem for there are a dozen different, mutually hostile, constantly shifting in their allegiances groups in Iraq, but all of them, in the end, consist of Muslims, and therefore none of them, in end, can conceivably be won over, not their hearts, and not their minds, to be real as opposed to temporary and feigned, friends of American Infidels.”

- Hugh Fitzgerald (www.jihadwatch.com)

MB4 on August 17, 2007 at 12:58 AM

Very profound quote.

You seem to be in “my” camp.

MB4 on August 17, 2007 at 1:37 AM

I do not have any answers, only questions. And more questions.

Here are my thoughts. The Sham-nesty issue caused me to sit down and really ponder and address some “simmering and boiling under the surface” philosophical questions concerning Bush and the GOP that I have had for awhile, but have not articulated to others. I concluded that Bush was not being “conservative” on the entire Sham-nesty issue.

Then when Bush, Reid, Graham-Amnesty, John Kyl, Ted Kennedy later brought out the secret “clay pigeon strategy”, I was horrified at the very thought of Bush opposing the majority popular view (the general public including many liberals I know, oppose shamnesty by upwards of up to 80% against). I simply could not believe that: A.) on conservative principled grounds, Bush was dead wrong; and B.) on popular majority grounds, he was dead wrong.

But because Bush started something, he was going to force it through no matter what, no matter if it was unconstitutional.

Applying the above analogy of sham-nesty to Iraq, I look at Iraq, and I ask certain principled conservative questions, and I am simply discouraged by the answers I get. Concerning the situation in Iraq, I see both A.) and B.) also relevant to Iraq.

And yet people are dying in Iraq daily.

I am not advocating “cut and run.” I simply do not have any answers, only questions.

Maybe Conservatism thrives as a “counter-revolution” in practice. Because when so-called “conservatives” get elected to office, the allure of the mainstream media and K Street is so powerful that they tend to forget their conservative principles. Remember, conservatism flourished under the Clinton years because we were focusing on the big ideas, and remaining true to the core principles.

I just get tired of reminding people who ask me, “look, I am a conservative, not a Republican.”

ColtsFan on August 17, 2007 at 10:37 AM

I remember reading, I think, that Bryan Preston argued against the division of Iraq into 3 separate states.

ColtsFan on August 17, 2007 at 12:57 AM

From the following article:

http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NmI1YmIyNjYzY2E2MGMzZTBjMTA1MWM0ODE5NjQ5MjU=

A Democrat congressman (who voted against the 2002 Iraqi invasion) noted this observation,

“It was Baird’s fifth trip to the Middle East, and he conceded that what he has learned has put him again in an unpopular position with some voters. He no longer thinks partitioning Iraq into Sunni, Shiite and Kurd sections is possible, for instance; no one he spoke to in Israel, Jordan, Palestinian cities or Iraq liked the idea, he added.”

This is very interesting. I was kinda surprised.

ColtsFan on August 17, 2007 at 11:35 AM