As a free democratic country, they must learn to yield to our will when we know what's best for them.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside

Calm down Chicken Little. Dont get your feathers in a bunch.

Are they effective?

Apparently so.

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My Political Blog (Most recent update Oct 3rd) - Which Flame Warrior are you?

My story is dated April 24. The source is CNN. And the story makes it clear that the Iraqi government is NOT ordering them to stop, and in fact seems to be encouraging us to build more because they are effective.

Please post the source to your claim. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt that you are not pulling it out of your aѕs.

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My Political Blog (Most recent update Oct 3rd) - Which Flame Warrior are you?

What happens when 'we win'? Does the wall stay up for eternity, or do we take the wall down as we are about to de-occupy and hope that the sunnis and shiites simply forget about killing each other?

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America is a melting pot, the people at the bottom get burned while all the scum floats to the top.
- - - Charlie King

We "win" when the Iraqi government is capable of handling the insurgents by itself. This is a step in that direction.

Maybe. Maybe not. it's not up to us. It's not our country.

Part of the reason they want to kill each other is in retaliation for violence (violence perpetrated by extremists). Remove the violence and you will remove a lot of their desire to kill each other with it.

One part of America used to own another part as slaves. Yet now we manage to get along without constantly killing each other. Explain to me why Iraq will be different.

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My Political Blog (Most recent update Oct 3rd) - Which Flame Warrior are you?

And the rest of the reason they kill each other is religious and racial.

Comparing Sunnis and Shiites to whites and blacks now, are we?

Yeah good thing we put up that wall to segregate us! Wow. Nice comparison. What part of America owned another part? And which parts? You kinda lost me there.

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America is a melting pot, the people at the bottom get burned while all the scum floats to the top.
- - - Charlie King

This is only a small example of a larger issue. There is no "Iraqi government" worthy of the term. There are constantly shifting factions and government agencies either with no oversight or no authority. The Iraqi parliament has yet to meet a single major benchmark in terms of legislation to share oil revenues, bring about political reconciliation, or any other major policy area. A problem due in part to the fact that a quorum can seldom be met because so many legislators have left the country.

Meanwhile, no progress toward disarming sectarian militias has been made and Iraqi reconstruction is hampered by the fact that the ministries with money in the bank won't spend it. Corruption continues unabated.

As of this morning the Prime Minister had ordered the building of security walls to stop. At least one Iraqi military commander ordered the work to continue. The US operates as still a third head of this absurd hydra.

Regardless of the success or failure of reducing violence in Baghdad, there is no discernible progress on the part of the Iraqi government to establish its authority. Unless and until major progress occurs on that front, the US will be treading water and simply sitting on the lid of a boiling pot.

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"To announce that..we are to stand by the president whether right or wrong..is morally treasonable to the American public." -- Theodore Roosevelt, 1918

that strategy is working so well for the israelis [/sarcasm]


almost makes one pine for the good ole days (june 12, 1987) when president reagan spoke these memorable words: "tear down this wall"

how is it our country is now building one?

Nor will it stop mortars. And it won't stop suicide car bombers like the one at one of the entrances to Sadr City the other day. It only concentrates people making them perfect targets.

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the memories of a man in his old age
are the deeds of a man in his prime

roger waters

Then by your definition we have won. The government is capable of handling the insurgency. All they have to do is unleash the death squads and militias and walla, end of insurgency. All we have to do is get out of the way.

__________________
the memories of a man in his old age
are the deeds of a man in his prime

roger waters