Comments on: Wesley Clark Gets Iraq Right

By: probligo

probligo — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 19:31:27 +0000

“Michael, you go to democracy-building with the ayatollah you have”

Ahhh, atlast!!!

Some one has explained GWB in a way that makes SENSE!!!

By: Callimachus

Callimachus — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 03:30:33 +0000

Michael, you go to democracy-building with the ayatollah you have.

By: michael reynolds

michael reynolds — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 02:43:33 +0000

Two points: 1) I don’t know that Sistani would allow US forces to take a more aggressive posture in the south, and 2) how did we reach the point where we are reliant on a septuagenarian ayatollah?

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 22:16:02 +0000

Clark’s suggestions are necessary but, unfortunately, not sufficient. In addition to the issues that the measures that the general suggests will deal with there are two issues that we face in Iraq:

1) How do we change the incentives in Iraq that are driving the various competing interests towards faction?

2) If continued large scale presence of American forces is required in Iraq for the foreseeable future (I think it is and Gen. Clark’s prescription would appear to make that assumption as well), how can domestic political support for doing that be mustered (it’s pretty obviously flagging)?

By: kreiz

kreiz — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 14:20:12 +0000

Kevin Drum takes a shot at Clark’s analysis this morning in “Changing the Course in Iraq.” I’d be interested in hearing your reaction to his piece, Justin. By the way, congratations on the Weblog Award nomination.

By: lgude

lgude — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 13:04:58 +0000

The Shia angle including Iran has been important from the begiing. Even the most enthusiastic advocates for war must have known they were invading a country where a 60% majority had been persecuted for hundreds of years. You can’t envision democracy in Iraq without recognising that democracy meant that you were empowering the Shia. I think the most optimistic thing that has happened is how Sistani has handled the pro Iranian faction. He let the US army defeat Sadr twice. Whatever Sistani wants it is something between the Iranian model and a secular democratic model. It is notable that he discouraged mullahs actually running for office. There are certainly those in Iraq who want an Iranian style theocracy either directly allied to Iran or in imitation of it. What isn’t clear is how much actual power that point of view will have in the new government. So while I don’t think the persident is openly talking about these issues for the obvious reason that it would lay him open to criticism that Iraqi goverenment is his simply his puppet.