FLASHBACK: February 5, 2007.

FOOL’S GOLD

By zein al-irban * (*pseudonym)

[...]

ESCALATING: THE SECRET AND IDIOT PLAN

The secret plan of the American Judeo-Christian right (their secret hope) is to use Maliki temporarily as a Shia cover to eliminate Muqtadha as-Sadr. Afterwards, the harmful idiots should rid themselves of Maliki. In other words, Maliki should provide a Shia cover for the military assault on the Mahdi Army. After defeating that army, the American colonial power should bring in its strong man–either Ayad Allawi or, more likely, one of his former Baathist generals. [...]

I couldn’t begin to describe the problems with this strategy. It’s so sophomoric, it’s hilarious--if it weren’t so tragic in results. It’ll certainly fail, one hundred percent. But only after costing us so much in blood and treasure.

For one, the Sadr people should melt away in the many towns in the south. For another, the Sunni targets of the American escalation should change the venue of their operations, from Baghdad to other towns--as they did recently by blowing up the innocent en masse in the Shia town of Hillah.

I don’t really buy the idea that Baghdad is key to the stability of Iraq. It’s fool’s gold. Putting out fires in Baghdad will only produce fires in other cities and towns: blowing up Shia by Sunni, and massacring Sunni wholesale by Shia death squads. It’ll only happen less in Baghdad and more in other places. [...]