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  Goalpost on the move in Iraq: ‘Reconciliation’ is out; ‘accommodation’ is in
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ContributorArmyDem 
Last EditedArmyDem  Nov 25, 2007 08:54am
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CategoryBlog Entry
News DateSunday, November 25, 2007 02:00:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionPosted November 25th, 2007 at 9:00 am

For all its dissembling, the White House has actually been fairly clear about the purpose of Bush’s “surge” policy — more U.S. troops would offer Iraqi political leaders some “breathing room” to achieve reconciliation. From there, sectarian conflicts would ease, and some semblance of stability would emerge.

It all sounds very nice, except the policy hasn’t worked, and about 11 months after the administration started implementing the surge, Iraq has actually slid backwards on political reconciliation. Indeed, the administration laid out a series of fairly specific benchmarks, to measure the success of its policy, and the vast majority of the goals are nowhere near complete.

The Bush gang has apparently decided to respond to the failed goals by — you guessed it — changing the goals.

[snip]

The White House has been elated by the drop in violence since the increase in American forces, now 162,000 troops. Public comments by President Bush and his aides, though, have been muted, reflecting frustration at the lack of political progress, a continuation of a pattern in which intense American efforts to promote broader reconciliation have proved largely fruitless.

There have been signs that American influence over Iraqi politics is dwindling after the recent improvements in security — which remain incomplete, as shown by a deadly bombing Friday in Baghdad. While Bush officials once said they aimed to secure “reconciliation” among Iraq’s deeply divided religious, ethnic and sectarian groups, some officials now refer to their goal as “accommodation.”
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