As many of you probably know, the situation in Iraq seems to have finally escalated to a civil war. On Wednesday, insurgents destroyed one of Iraq’s holiest Shiite shrines, which in turn brought attacks by Shiites militias on over 90 Sunni mosques. While a curfew has been put in place, the violence continues to this day. Juan Cole does an amazing job explaining all the events of that fateful day, pointing out that there was much more than just attacks on mosques..
Here are some interesting stories related to the outbreak of violence:
– For almost 3 years, Bush has ignored the warnings of Iraqi civil war from congressmen, the security committees, and the CIA.
– William F. Buckley, the founder of the conservative magazine Nation Review, stated last Thursday that “One can’t doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed.â€
– There are now zero Iraqi battalions capable of operating without U.S. support. That’s right. The Pentagon announced that the one battalion that was capable of operating self-sufficiently has been downgraded. This is down from 3 of 100 reported last June. Check out the Daily Show from last October.
– Conservative columnist George Will: “This is a civil war.â€
– – And only on FOX News: “All-Out Civil War in Iraq: Could It Be a Good Thing?†No. Probably not.