Remembering the Iraq War

As we celebrate Memorial Day holiday, we need to remember that the Iraq War is still going on. As Juan Cole (Informed Comment 05/25/09) writes:

The US and Iraqi militaries maintain that attacks are down by about half from this time last year, showing security progress. These statements seldom mention that a major reason for the fall in violence has been the ethnic cleansing of some 4 million Iraqis from their homes, reducing the contact of ethno-sectarian groups and so reducing violence among them.

Not an appealing prescription for the future. Nor a good sign for the long-term peace and stability of Iraq.

He also links to this article, Former Iraqi insurgent contemplates returning to war by Leila Fadel, McClatchy Newspapers 05/24/09, about the frustrations among Sunnis at the slow pace of actual reconciliation under Iraq's Shi'a-dominated government.

There's still a war going on in Iraq with lots of things that can still go wrong. Settling the status of the city of Kirkuk is only one of the most obvious of several things that can make the whole situation go south. And it's not such a great situation to begin with.

Tags: iraq war