Filed under: Feature, General News — Michael van der Galien, Editor-in-Chief on July 17, 2008 @ 5:00 pm CEST
‘All of the most important objectives of the surge have been accomplished in Iraq. The sectarian civil war is ended; al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) has been dealt a devastating blow; and the Sadrist militia and other Iranian-backed militant groups have been disrupted.’
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has accomplished almost all of the legislative benchmarks set by the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration. More important, it is gaining wider legitimacy among the population. The attention of Iraqis across the country is focused on the upcoming provincial elections, which will be a pivotal moment in Iraq’s development.
The above is indeed very important, but the main question remains unanswered: is Iraq’s culture changing so drastically that a free and liberal democracy can truly flourish in this country?
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1 Kemal
July 17, 2008 @ 7:22 pm CESTRight, and five years ago, Bush declared "Mission accomplished!"
Meanwhile this just in:
Car bombing kills 18 people in Iraq
BAGHDAD — A car bomb killed at least seven children and 11 other people in a northern city, providing a reminder that militants still can cause casualties despite security improvements that led U. S. troops to return a southern province to Iraqi control Wednesday.
Ninety people also were injured in the blast at a popular outdoor market in Tal Afar, said a police official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Is this some kind of a sick joke by the WSJ?
2 RRRocks
July 17, 2008 @ 9:49 pm CESTIf one car bomb in an entire nation means the war is lost then you are right the war is lost and we should come home now.
3 Kevin H
July 17, 2008 @ 9:55 pm CESTThe Sadrist Militia wasn’t ‘disrupted’ they choose to attempt a peaceful political consolidation of power instead of a military based one. They are still not friendly to the west, and quite theocratic in ideology, and last I heard (which I admit was while ago) they looked like the big winner in the upcoming provincial elections.
The WSJ is right that those elctions will be a pivotal moment for Iraq, but I fear that the WSJ will simply read what they want to from them, and not take a deep look at what happened and help us to figure out the direction in which Iraq is heading.