tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post116498596427971284..comments2024-03-29T02:03:49.151-04:00Comments on History Unfolding: The Split in the AdministrationDavid Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05020082243968071584noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-1165499925182887442006-12-07T08:58:00.000-05:002006-12-07T08:58:00.000-05:00It is becoming like an old school Kremlology-sessi...It is becoming like an old school Kremlology-session to keep track of the factions within the administration. I would suggest that the president is currently in the throes of the existentialist angst of the alcoholic waking up the day after a binge and remembering nothing.<BR/><BR/>As to Mr. Rambos comment that the pulling out of Anbar province is a sign of appeasement for the Sunnis, I`m not so sure. It could be that they are opening for wholescale ethnic cleansing and bombing, though I doubt it. My guess is that they simply at the moment have no plan whatsoever, and are panicking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-1165110620750761622006-12-02T20:50:00.000-05:002006-12-02T20:50:00.000-05:00According to an article in La Repubblica (Rome), t...According to an article in <I>La Repubblica</I> (Rome), the US worked hand-in-glove with Mr. Chalabi and representatives of the Islamic Republic before the invasion. I also recall that the US was far too keen to destroy Fallujah. The US also strove to write a Constitution that completely disenfranchised the Sunni. Then the US holds 40,000+ Sunnis in outdoor prison camps. This isn't much in terms of documentation, but seems to me that the US has been objectively anti-Sunni from Day One. <BR/><BR/>But if the US is going to tilt to the Shi'a, isn't it odd that Philip D. Zelikow has resigned in his moment of triumph?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-1165089204316526132006-12-02T14:53:00.000-05:002006-12-02T14:53:00.000-05:00Professor Kaiser,Unless I'm mistaken, the sentence...Professor Kaiser,<BR/><BR/>Unless I'm mistaken, the sentence "The military in Baghdad violently opposes this because they think that reconciliation with the Shi'ites is the only way to end the insurgency" should refer to reconciliation with the Sunnis rather than the Shi'ites, to preserve the sense of the paragraph and indeed the sense of the situation in Baghdad and al-Anbar province. There's no acknowledged need for reconciliation with the Shi'ites in general, only with Shia elements, but the recent talk of pulling the Marines out of al-Anbar suggests reconciliation with Sunnis.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your posts,<BR/><BR/>Gary Rambo<BR/>SeattleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com