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"Shared beliefs"

From today's Washington Post, good news from Iraq:

At the very least, analysts optimistically concluded, the findings indicate that Iraqis hold some "shared beliefs" that may eventually allow them to surmount the divisions that have led to a civil war.

What are those "shared beliefs"? According to focus groups conducted by the military, Iraqis of all kinds believe "the U.S. military invasion is the primary root of the violent differences among them, and see the departure of 'occupying forces' as the key to national reconciliation," the Post says.

We're uniting the Iraqis after all, it seems.

Comments

# 1

[December 19, 2007 3:11 PM]

Henry

Yeah, they got along swell before we got there. Except for those massacres.

# 2

[December 19, 2007 4:34 PM]

BUD

Ya know..here we sit near the holidays..imagine you're part of a family who have loved ones in Iraq or who have died in Iraq, and you come across an editorial like this.. congrats Dan.. the "SEASON" prevents me from going any further.

# 3

[December 19, 2007 5:10 PM]

Blue John

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!


# 4

[December 19, 2007 10:38 PM]

Josh

Dan, It must gall you that we're on the verge of winning in Iraq after you said repeatedly earlier this year that the war is 'unwinnable.'

The least you could do is be a man and acknowledge you were completely wrong about Iraq, and the that the president was right.

You also might have focused on the conclusion of the article, that even the liberal Post was forced to admit:

"A sense of "optimistic possibility permeated all focus groups . . . and far more commonalities than differences are found among these seemingly diverse groups of Iraqis."


# 5

[December 19, 2007 10:55 PM]

Josh

And more bad news for the Democrats:

14 coalition casualties for December. At the current rate, that would make 22 for the month, shattering the old mark of 31.

359 Iraqi deaths for the month, also the lowest by far.

What ever happened to the Civil War Dan repeatedly talked about ? Ooopsie.

I think an apology to the president and General Petraeus, both of whom you slammed, is in order.

# 6

[December 20, 2007 7:17 AM]

Blue John

14 coalition casualties for December. 359 Iraqi casualties for the month. What a merry Christmas for those families.


# 7

[December 20, 2007 8:39 AM]

Henry

More Americans will be murdered in Oakland than Iraq. What about those poor familes? You won't see them on the news. The Democrats won't lament their fate. They won't talk about quagmire or pulling out to save those families. And that is just one city.

# 8

[December 20, 2007 9:23 AM]

Will

Apology to George Bush???

I'd just as soon kick his butt back to Crawford TX where he should be locked up!

As for General Petraeus, I would whole-heartedly apologize to him and the rest of the military for having put such a poor excuse of a President in place that didn't have the foggiest clue as to how to go about this mess called Iraq.

I'll be delighted when Crawford gets its Village Idiot back!

# 9

[December 20, 2007 9:30 AM]

Josh

"What kind of Christmas will it be for the families of the 359 Iraqi Muslims who were killed?"

Sheer brilliance. LOL.

# 10

[December 20, 2007 12:14 PM]

Blue John

Right you are Josh. I didn't think about the religious differences, I was appalled that anyone could think that number of deaths was acceptable. Too bad the muslim families won't be able to LOL with you.
Henry, the loss of human life is tragic whether it makes the news or not. I take pride in being a compassionate person, and regardless of your political affiliation, any intelligent person should feel the same way.

# 11

[December 20, 2007 10:07 PM]

Henry

Yeah but our cities are more dangerous than a war zone. Does anyone care? Apparently not. The Bush-haters like to crow about the war just because they hate Bush. They just use the families for political ammunition. It's all a political game.

# 12

[December 21, 2007 6:37 AM]

Josh

Anybody who can't celebrate a drastic reduction in troop deaths is a pathetic partisan hack.

# 13

[December 21, 2007 8:17 AM]

Blue John

You are right Henry. At times areas of some of our cities are probably more dangerous than war zones. I read in the Post that a fifteen year old kid stole a limo., and rode around in it for a week before he ran down a bicycle cop with the car. When the kid was caught he stated that he was trying to kill the cop because he was cracking down on drug dealers.
It seems to me that our tax dollars should be spent to stop the war at home before we start a war abroad. Sadaam did not attack the U.S.

# 14

[December 21, 2007 12:00 PM]

Josh

Will,
Don't you think when someone has railed against the character, intelligence, and judgment about someone repeatedly on their important decision, and that person turned out to be correct, that an apology is in order.

I'm sure you would be a man and do the right thing, wouldn't you, Will?

Only 15 casualties in 21 days now. Man, I'm poppin' the cork. Be a patriot and join me.

# 15

[December 21, 2007 4:52 PM]

Blue John

What if the insurgents, rather than fight the increased forces, are laying low until the troops are downsized? Strategy is one of the first items on the agenda at war college. Make no mistake about it, our foe is cunning, determined, and has us in a precarious position. We heard the words "Mission Accomplished" spoken prematurely once before.

# 16

[December 21, 2007 5:17 PM]

Josh

Well, first. "Mission Accomplished" in 2003 referred to the mission of removing Saddam which we did. I have no idea why liberals have trouble with this. Dan makes the same mistake over and over.

About the terrorists in Iraq lying low. Do you have evidence to support this? I have heard Al Queda is gone from many areas. I think our leaders know if they are or aren't. They have had a pretty good track record of getting things done.

Only 15 casualties --21 days. Time to celebrate if you're a patriot.

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