The key for a long time in Iraq to stabilization . . . has been to pull in significant elements of Sunnis near the insurgency into the political process. Much of the violence after that was entrenched or reinforced by the elections when the Sunnis were pressed to the margins. |
The staff has just been doing a great job keeping us going in these severe weather conditions. |
There are elements in the newly adopted constitution that cannot stand ... if Iraq is ever going to be stable. |
They want to start withdrawing because they can feel the heat here in the United States, |
To presume that any deal is better than a delayed deal, that's based on a political strategy that we have to get out as ugly as we can, as quickly as we can, ... Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq . |
We would probably have to get out of the way. We wouldn't have nearly enough troops to quell the violence at that point. At a minimum, we'd have to pull back to certain military bases and try to keep working the politics. |
Yes, speed is a concern for domestic public opinion polls and Iraqi public opinion, ... But they are taking a risk here. They may get a bad product in the end and run the risk of civil war. |