I wish the deomcrats in congress could grasp this concept and stop funding the Occupation NOW!.......
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40196ATHENS, Nov 23 (IPS) - "As long as the U.S. troops stay in Iraq there will be violence," warns Gilbert Achcar, Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.
Achcar -- a vehement critic of U.S. policy in the Middle East since Sep. 11, 2001 -- was born in Senegal and lived in Lebanon until moving to France in 1983.
He has served as professor of politics and international relations at the University of Paris VIII, and has written many books about the impact of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East during the post Sep. 11 era.
Achcar spoke with IPS correspondent Apostolis Fotiadis about the current state of the war and what the future might hold.
IPS: Would the absence of U.S. forces in Iraq result in an interethnic conflict of total annihilation?
GA: There are many signs to the contrary. Civil conflict has been going on anyway. It peaked some months ago and has subsided recently, but still the U.S. politics of turning the communities against each other has sharpened tensions between ethnic and sectarian groups. The only undisputable fact is the correlation between the occupation and the level of violence.
As long as the U.S. troops stay in Iraq there will be violence in this country. The announcement of a date of departure would exert pressure on the various factions in Iraq to reach a consensus. In that case people will know they are facing a deadline for finding a way to co-exist or lose control.
Instead we get this crap......
Democrats’ Bill on Iraq Wouldn’t End War for Decades
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/23/5402/WASHINGTON — The Democrats’ flagship proposal on Iraq is aimed at bringing most troops home. Yet if enacted, the law would still allow for tens of thousands of US troops to stay deployed for years to come.
This reality - readily acknowledged by Democrats, who say it’s still their best shot at curbing the nearly five-year war - has drawn the ire of antiwar groups and bolstered President Bush’s prediction that the United States will probably wind up maintaining a hefty long-term presence in Iraq, much as it does in South Korea.
For those who want troops out, “you’ve got more holes in here than Swiss cheese,” said Tom Andrews, national director of the war protest group Win Without War and a former congressman from Maine.
The Democratic proposal would order troops to begin leaving Iraq within 30 days, a requirement Bush is already on track to meet as he begins reversing this year’s 30,000 troop buildup. The proposal also sets a goal of ending combat by Dec. 15, 2008.
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