Another car bomb blew dozens of Iraqis into smithereens just a couple of hours ago; militiamen loyal to Moqtada Al Sadr were gunned down by US troops yesterday; and the governor of Basra has issued an arrest warrant for two british troops. Things are getting worse by the day and undoubtedly, even the optimists (eg yours truly) are now considering the early-exit option as the most reasonable one. I'm really shilly shally about this. Leaving Iraq could very possibly lead to civil war, increased bloodshed and then total chaos. Or maybe not. Perhaps the departure of coalition troops would trigger an immense sense of national pride, unite the country and lead to national reconciliaiton and re-construction. Hmmm highly unlikely scenario but who knows, just maybe...
If only there was a serious and convincing anti-war movement, maybe those hesitant like me could be swayed into supporting an exit strategy. But when you see and hear some of the loonies at the helm of the movement (see ANSWER and the Party for Socialism and Liberation) gurgling their utter rubbish in front of hundreds of thousands of loyal marchers (like those demonstrating today), it's easy to understand why they can't attract more mainstream political support.
Here's a thoughtfil blog post by Marc Cooper on the demonstrations today.
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