Cease-fire in Iraq a possibility

[xpanda]

GOOD. Should've happened two years ago, but better late than never.

Cease-fires eyed to stop Iraq violence

<!-- END HEADLINE --> <!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --> By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago


WASHINGTON - U.S. military commanders are talking with Iraqi militants about cease-fires and other arrangements to try to stop the violence, the No. 2 American commander said Thursday.

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Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said commanders at all levels are being empowered to reach out to militants, tribes, religious leaders and others in the country that has been gripped by violence from a range of fronts including insurgents, sectarian rivals and common criminals.


"It's just beginning, so we have a lot of work to do in this," he said. "But we have restructured ourselves ... to work this issue."


"We are talking about cease-fires, and maybe signing some things that say they won't conduct operations against the government of Iraq or against coalition forces.," Odierno told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from Baghdad.


He said the effort goes hand in hand with reconciliation efforts by the Iraqi government.


Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other leaders are under increasing pressure from Washington to do more to achieve reconciliation among factions because, officials argue, no amount of military force can bring peace to the country without political peace.


Al-Maliki announced a national reconciliation proposal nearly a year ago that has made limited progress. It offered some amnesty to members of the Sunni-led insurgency and a change in a law that had removed senior members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from their jobs.


"I believe there are elements that are irreconcilable, but I believe the large majority are," Odierno said. "I believe about 80 percent are reconcilable, both Jaish al-Mahdi as well as Sunni insurgents," though very few of al-Qaida.


"There will be always people that are irreconcilable and ... the Iraqi government, with our support, will have to continue to conduct operations against those forces," he said. "Prime Minister Maliki and the government of Iraq have to continue to reach out to all these groups. ... That's what this reconciliation is about ... bringing these groups into the political process so we can deal with their differences in a peaceful way instead of in violent ways."

 

[JudgeWapner]

Let's hope it pans out.

 

[JoeContrarian]

al-Qaida doesn't believe in cease-fires.

 

[random1323]

yes they do joe.

 

[JoeContrarian]

I'm not sure you folks are aware of this, but there almost was a peace deal struck two years ago with the various factions in Iraq...but then al-Qaida blew up the Golden Mosque in Samarra, igniting more senseless bloodshed. It'll happen again. The Islamofascists have their own objectives -- and it has little to do with the the hopes and dreams of the millions of Iraqis who voted for a better life.

Btw, Islamic militants are determined to topple the democratically elected government in Lebanon as well. Yes, I think it's high time the "American occupiers" left that country also.

uppy:

 

[JinnRikki]

I'm sure this cease-fire (if it happens) will be as long lived as most ever are in the region. I give it a day maybe two. Something will go boom and it will be War On! once again. A few weeks later another cease-fire will be in effect for about the same length of time... the Mesopotamian version of Ground Hog Day.

In September this will all be construed as progress and the beat will go on...and on.

Good to see you back Jo. You needed a break from mom's basement and I'm sure she enjoyed the respite from you.

 

[JinnRikki]

Jo, honest answer now, don't you think that the only reason Iraqis of any stripe abide al-qaida is because their common opponent is U.S. occupiers (enemy of my enemy is my friend)?
Do you believe they will tolerate al-qaida as a separate destabilizing entity once we leave?

 

[JoeContrarian]

Huh?

The Iraqi people don't 'abide' al-qaida anymore than the people of Afghanistan 'abided' the Taliban. The militants who claim the US are 'occupiers' (at least the ones going to great lengths to blow them up -- most of whom are NOT Iraqis btw) are using 'nationalism' a smoke screen for their true agenda.

And leftist know-it-all profs like Chomsky, Robert Pape and their mouthpieces like Rosie, only aid the Islamofascist propaganda. Fact is, an increasingly larger number of Iraqis see al-Qaida as the true enemy of their country, as they are the ones blowing up Mosques and markets killing innocent civilians, not Americans trying to stabilize their country.

Talk to the commanders on the ground, instead of regurgitating unsubstantiated leftist theory.

 

[JinnRikki]

A guerrilla force cannot operate without support from the populace. This was shown, most recently, in Vietnam.
If you are trying to make the case that al-quaida works independently in Iraq your ignorant.
We've turned Iraq into an al-qaida haven.
I see you've returned, dumber than ever.

 

[random1323]

and u know what the commanders on the ground are saying joe the iraqi police are getting caught helping al-qaida you moron.

 

[JoeContrarian]

A guerrilla force cannot operate without support from the populace. This was shown, most recently, in Vietnam.

I'll ask you the same question I ask everyone else who makes this ridiculous unsubstantiated argument. What percentage of the Iraqi people are helping al-Qaida? And by 'help' I mean blowing up police stations, planting roadside IEDs, suicide bombers in the market place blowing up fellow Iraqis...

Humor us, JR. Give us a number or percentage. Why would Iraqis target non-military, non-US targets killing innocent Iraqi civilians to rid themselves of the 'occupiers?'

If you are trying to make the case that al-quaida works independently in Iraq your ignorant.

I have never made that claim. al-Qaida doesn't work independently. They have plenty of support. If we want to win, we're going to have to attack their entire network -- the factories making the IEDs, the supply lines -- something we didn't do in Vietnam, btw.

Go to the source or pack up and go home.

We've turned Iraq into an al-qaida haven. I see you've returned, dumber than ever.

Like hell we have. Popular leftist Moveon.org talking points that don't pass the smell test. Where would Zarqawi and the thousands of al-Qaida killed in Iraq be right now if we hadn't invaded Iraq?

JR, they'll follow us wherever we show up to fight. If we withdraw from Iraq -- a major front in the war against radical Islam -- they will follow us home. And then Americans will say, "President Hildabeast turned the USA into an al-Qaida haven. We want the chimp! Bring back the chimp!"

 

[random1323]

joe, who knows why they bomb the "innocent", do u have some intel inside al-qaida. for all we know they are bombing iraqi people in favor of the US, who knows but al-qaida. please stop acting like a psychic and think.

 

[JoeContrarian]

joe, who knows why they bomb the "innocent", do u have some intel inside al-qaida. for all we know they are bombing iraqi people in favor of the US, who knows but al-qaida. please stop acting like a psychic and think.

Maybe if you spent some time reading up on the history and nature of this intolerant strain of radical Islam (long before we entered the picture) instead of soaking up the 9/11 conspiracy and "Bush lied" moonbat bullshit, you wouldn't accuse of me of acting like a psychic.

Don't forget, Hitler had 'grievances' leftists embraced and/or excused also.

 

[JinnRikki]

I'll ask you the same question I ask everyone else who makes this ridiculous unsubstantiated argument. What percentage of the Iraqi people are helping al-Qaida? And by 'help' I mean blowing up police stations, planting roadside IEDs, suicide bombers in the market place blowing up fellow Iraqis...

Help can be anything from actually planting IEDs to pointing in the opposite direction when asked which way the bad guys went. So I would hesitate to quantify it other than to say it isn't insignificant.

If we want to win, we're going to have to attack their entire network -- the factories making the IEDs, the supply lines -- something we didn't do in Vietnam, btw.

We didn't? You should clue John McCain in then when he tells tales of fearing an American bomb killing him while enjoying the hospitality at the Hanoi Hilton.
Or possibly you could hold a séance and conjure up tricky Dick and ask him why he didn't bomb Cambodia, wait...nevermind.

JR, they'll follow us wherever we show up to fight. If we withdraw from Iraq -- a major front in the war against radical Islam -- they will follow us home. And then Americans will say, "President Hildabeast turned the USA into an al-Qaida haven. We want the chimp! Bring back the chimp!"

I gotta tell ya Jo this is the lamest argument you have.
To think that an enemy would continue to throw itself against a vastly superior military force when they could more easily attack the soft underbelly of the enemy at home...if they could, is ludicrous..
You fuckin' bed wetters really need to grow some balls.

 

[random1323]

let em bomb their people and let em come here. not every is a ***** like u.

 

[random1323]

i love how u clump every bombing reason under intolerant strain of radical Islam.

 

[random1323]

just because u read someone elses opinion doesn't make u understand what's going on over there. i have a half a dozen friends who have been there. i think they get a pretty idea of what it's like, but i'm not even speaking from their testimonies, it's just logic and reasoning and not the fear u have.

 

[JoeContrarian]

I gotta tell ya Jo this is the lamest argument you have. To think that an enemy would continue to throw itself against a vastly superior military force when they could more easily attack the soft underbelly of the enemy at home...if they could, is ludicrous..

You fuckin' bed wetters really need to grow some balls.

Yes, on 9/11 the bad guys "threw themselves against a vastly superior military force" -- and lost. We really showed them!

I'm sure you remember that day fondly after your hero allowed THOUSANDS of al-Qaida to make their way through Jihadist terror camps all over the ME throughout the 90s, preparing for this war we're now engaged in. Despite many letters from terrorist analysts, the head of the CIA, and the PNAC, warning of the imminent threat, you "higher thinkers" didn't see it comin'. Even after the USS Cole! Why didn't Clinton respond after the USS Cole, JR?

Fantabulous job! And you pacifist liberals moanin' and bitchin' about the current bloodshed have the temerity to accuse the Bush Doctrine (actionable intel backed by JDAM smart weapons, Predator drones and thousands of American troops across the ME) of "creating more terrorists"? :ughhh:

 

[random1323]

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[JoeContrarian]

Help can be anything from actually planting IEDs to pointing in the opposite direction when asked which way the bad guys went. So I would hesitate to quantify it other than to say it isn't insignificant.

Got any proof? Metrics? Testimony? Thousands of Iraqis rallying in the streets demanding we leave? Not too much to ask, is it?