Reconciliation Moving Forward Sans Maliki
The news from Iraq keeps providing more optimism that Iraq can be stabilized. You know conditions are improving when the Strib is reporting things like this:
In a move toward reconciliation, a leader from Iraq’s largest Shiite party paid a rare visit Sunday to Sunni-controlled Anbar Province, delivering a message of unity to tribal sheiks who have staged a revolt against Al-Qaida militants. Ammar al-Hakim’s visit was the latest sign that key Iraqi politicians may be working toward reconciliation independently of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government.
The Strib isn’t the only left-leaning media organization that’s noticing what’s happening:
The helicopter trip was brief. But the journey also crossed something huge and ugly: Iraq’s bloody sectarian divisions.
Aboard the 70-mile flight from Baghdad to Ramadi was a top Pentagon envoy and a leader of Iraq’s biggest Shiite political party. They were paying a visit to Sunni sheiks who have joined the U.S. battle against extremists.
The meeting Sunday was part of budding contacts between Iraq’s rival Muslim groups that has shown promise where the nation’s political leadership has stalled: trying to find common ground among Shiites and Sunnis.
The exchanges, which have bypassed the stumbling government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, are supported by Washington as part its evolving strategies to tap the influence of religious authorities and tribal chiefs.
Western media outlets have said that reconciliation isn’t happening. I suspect that that’s because they expect reconciliation to take the form of a treaty or something similar. Why should we expect reconciliation to take that form when it’s possible that it’ll take a different, more informal form?
Whichever way it happens, it’s looking likely that some form of reconciliation will happen. when that happens, it’ll cause political problems for Democratic presidential candidates because reconciliation would be vindication for President Bush’s policies. Hillary’s invested so much vitriol in saying President Bush’s policies were failures that to have him get it right would be a defeat for her.
I’m not prepared to say that Iraq wil turn into a political victory for Republicans. I’m perfectly confortable saying that I doubt that it’ll be a big negative for them, though.
If reconciliation happens, one thing that will be undeniable is that the Surge improved securiity and created the conditions to make reconciliation possible. If and when that happens, people will owe Gen. Petraeus an apology for doubting the wisdom of his plan and his integrity.
Technorati Tags: Strib, Reconciliation, Shiites, al-Maliki, Sunnis, David Petraeus, President Bush, Hillary, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
October 20th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
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