General Patraeus and Ambassador Crocker are putting the best face they can on it, but it seems obvious that the Iraqis can’t get their act together for the sake of their own security and our troops too.
The unity and common ground that has eluded the religious sects for 1400 years continues to do so.
But what is our excuse. Unity has been the hallmark of American politics ever since the United States were founded. The tougher the going, the more determined we were as a country to pull together, the more likely it was that the political parties would find the common ground for progress.
Today that sense of good will and unity is not just absent in Baghdad, it is absent in Washington. It’s more easily solved here, of course, but there is precious little evidence of desire. And where there is little desire to reach common ground there is little chance to reach common ground.
The irony of failing to find the unity here which we are trying to export there is obvious. But it is more than ironic. Without some sense of political unity – an end to the bickering, posturing and venom that dominates Washington – undermines our ability not just to adopt a rational policy in Iraq, but threatens our abilty to deal with terrorism, energy independence, global climate change, our schools, health care, immigration, the deficit/entitlement crisis that is about to hit, and all the crucial issues at our doorstep.
It is why Unity08 was founded – a safety valve for a country in trouble. There’s nothing new about disunity in Iraq; but disunity here threatens everything about the America of our history and our dreams.
- Doug Bailey
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