Tony Blair and George W Bush were united again at the White House last night to defend their intervention in Iraq and talk up the prospects of a stable government there.
Fact:
Southern Iraq, long touted as a peaceful region that’s likely to be among the first areas returned to Iraqi control, is now dominated by Shiite Muslim warlords and militiamen who are laying the groundwork for an Islamic fundamentalist government, say senior British and Iraqi officials in the area.
From what I’ve read elsewhere the “Fact” picture is correct. Iraqi “stability” is code for a justification that the Coalition can withdraw prematurely.
The price of any withdrawal of British troops from Southern Iraq is that the Shiite dominated militia, Iraqi military and security services will be given an unfettered opportunity to stamp out Sunni resistance.
This is no recipe for stability. Sunni resistance will harden supported by Sunni dominated al Qaeda and financed by the very Sunni governments of the Gulf states including Saudi Arabia.