This piece deals with some of the things I've been going on about, such as expansion of the IGC, the role of Sharia, and women's rights -- as they are involved with the 'tranferrance of power to the Iraqis.' (We'll still have the bigger guns) *clears throat*
In reading the piece, you can't help but be struck with the challenges involved, and just how fluid the situation is in Iraq. The obligatory tease:
A January opinion poll in six major cities showed that 45 percent of respondents believe that "conditions for peace and stability" are improving. Salaries are higher, there are more goods in the markets, and people are less afraid to walk the streets in most cities.
In the same poll, by Daghir's firm, the Independent Institute for Administration and Civil Society Studies, 70.7 percent of respondents either somewhat or strongly agreed that "democracy offers Iraq the hope of peace, stability and a better life, while the people attacking coalition forces offer only chaos."
However, the U.S.-led occupation and the political vacuum created by almost a year without a sovereign government, coupled with the continuing unemployment and gaps in basic public services, has caused widespread frustration.
"Given more than three decades of despotic rule, a ruined economy, a devastated country and the collapse of state institutions, conditions in Iraq are daunting," said a recent United Nations fact-finding report. "The underlying tensions could fuel the existing potential for civil strife and violence."
I download and save a local copy pf nearly everything that I link to...reading back over the past years worth of good material it is abundantly clear that we were horribly mis-informed by our leadership here in the States. I won't use the 'L' word, because some people continue to harbor belief in spite of evidence supporting a different conclusion. See cognitive dissonance for more color.
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