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Parts of Iraq 'in civil war'
From correspondents in Washington
This story is from our news.com.au network Source: AFP
February 28, 2007

SECURITY in Iraq is "moving in a negative direction" and that the term "civil war" aptly describes elements of the conflict there, US intelligence chief Michael McConnell said overnight.

"Unless efforts to reverse these conditions gain real traction during the 12-18 month time frame ... we assess that the security situation will continue to deteriorate at rates comparable to the latter half of 2006," Mr McConnell told the US Senate Armed Services Committee.

The director of national intelligence also said "the term 'civil war' accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict" including the hardening of sectarian divisions and population "displacements".

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...6-1702,00.html
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Really, ya think?


Mygoodness the govt is slow to adapt. Whether it's the situation on the battlefield or at home with the energy and border issue, seems to me our leaders have been behind the curve all these years... instead of acting they've been reacting.

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"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts

I should dearly love to hear which parts of The Iraqi situation he doesn't think would accurately describe civil war?

I imagine the northern Kurdish state to be calm. That Iraqi state has just sent a small Kurdish military force to Bagdad. 'course they don't speak arabic and few in numbers, but atleast they are iraqi muslims.

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"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts

I guess it depends on whether they`re thinking 'peacekeeping' or 'payback'.

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Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Marx (G.)

Neither as far as I know. Extra $300 a month for hazardous duty pay.

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"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts

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New Iraqi Troops Fly Into Baghdad
Feb 25th - 3:30pm
By KIM GAMEL
Associated Press Writer


BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - About 130 fresh Iraqi troops from the country's Kurdish north flew into Baghdad on Sunday to join the fight for the nation's capital _ with the promise of a $200 bonus, nearly a month's pay

The mostly Kurdish soldiers _ the first to arrive from the northern city of Irbil _ were greeted by Iraqi commanders as they filed off the gray C-130 troop transport. They wore camouflage, with machine guns or rocket-propelled grenade launchers slung over their shoulders. Many carried belongings in plastic bags. The troops represented a fraction of the expected influx of some 8,000 Iraqi reinforcements from the north, the Shiite south and the insurgent stronghold of Anbar province west of Baghdad.

The drafting of troops from the north _ most former Kurdish guerrillas who fought for decades against Saddam Hussein's regime _ to participate in the security crackdown in the capital has raised concerns as many speak no Arabic and are unfamiliar with the territory and urban warfare. Many Kurds also refused to leave their autonomous region to fight in far-off Baghdad. But Lt. Gen. Ali Ghadan, Iraq's ground forces commander, said the Kurds and other troops coming from outside Baghdad had a powerful incentive. Each would receive a $200 bonus in addition to their regular salaries and would only be deployed for three months, then allowed to go home.

The minimum salary for Iraqi soldiers is nearly $300 per month, although some get food allowances, according to the Defense Ministry. Ghadan said the troops would get another bonus of the same amount if they signed on for another tour after their first deployment. The bonuses underscore the eagerness of the Iraqi government to show it can rally sufficient forces to allow it to take the lead in the security sweep aimed at clearing the capital of Sunni insurgents and local Shiite militias who have killed thousands in rising violence between the two Islamic sects. The inability of the Shiite-led government to deliver the promised number of Iraqi forces has been partly blamed for the failure of two previous security operations in Baghdad. President Bush has promised to send 21,500 more American troops to Iraq for the current effort. Gen. Babaker Shawkat Zebari, the army chief of staff, stressed unity in the armed forces, addressing concerns the Kurdish troops might resent being called to Baghdad because they feel more loyalty to their homeland.

"Baghdad is a beautiful city that desperately needs your help," Zebari, himself a Kurd, said in Arabic after welcoming the troops in Kurdish. "If the terrorists are defeated here, all of Iraq will get back on its feet." A brigade from Sulaimaniyah, also in the Kurdish north, has reached Baghdad, but it is only 1,000-men strong, not the expected 3,000. Capt. Amir Wali, a 29-year-old former Kurdish guerrilla who has been integrated into the army, agreed. "I was glad to come here," he told reporters after the ceremony. "We came to defend Baghdad against terrorists."

The Iraqi troops were the first to be brought to the capital in an aircraft piloted by Iraqis, the military said, touting it as a sign the Iraqis are making strides toward taking over their own security. "Instead of depending on the friendly forces to move such units, now the transportation is done by Iraqi planes. This is a historic event," Ghadan said.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1071814
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"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts

So now the US is training ex-terrorists who would then be able to go home fully trained next to other Kurds in insurrection it Turkey. That should be fun for NATO allies.

Is the US trying to spread the conflict?

Hmmm.... Where are all the Neocons in this thread??????

They flee when the truth is finally exposed.

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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Schopenhauer

This "truth that is finally being exposed" is weeks old, and different than how it's being spun in this thread:

From Feb 2nd:
If you want me to be Clintonian, there is civil war going on, but it's not a civil war.

Hmm.. not really. It's a possible scenario but unlikely. Both Turkey and Kurdstate are taking active measures to avoid a confrontation. Already both of their peoples have built economic ties and their govts are trying to work together.

This is also why I think it is vital that the E.U. bring Turkey into the fold asap.



Sgt. Oddball: Always with the negative waves Moriarty, always with the negative waves. Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?

Cpl. Moriarty: Crap!

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"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts