No Joy in Mudville...

You know you have already lost when the General in charge of the US military in Iraq says something this stupid.

Aside from the less than honest framing of his irony-free admission of ignorance ("to the extent we can know that" -- "or know anything" one might add), and the incredibly obtuse understatement that 500 attacks a week are "above norms", the real boner is the last sentence in which Casey brags about how all these Iraqis are registering to participate in the Constitutional Referendum.

Doesn't he realize that the Sunnis are on the knife's edge of complete rebellion?

I read today that the Shi'a and Kurds have now rigged the vote, no doubt with our assistance. So it is quite clear the Constitution will pass, and all hope of avoiding civil war in Iraq will be lost.

That Casey does not seem to understand that the referendum means the end of the political process, and the beginning of all-out armed conflict is appalling, but consistent with the intelligence associated with the war effort to this point.

General George W. Casey Jr, in The Washington Post:

Asked whether the insurgency has worsened, Casey said it has not expanded geographically or numerically, "to the extent we can know that."

But he noted that current "levels of violence are above norms," exceeding 500 attacks a week.
[..]
"And what's really important is the fact that the Iraqis are at 98 percent registered to participate in the referendum, in the elections."

In that same article in the Post:

Sen. Carl M. Levin (Mich.), ranking Democrat on the committee, said he believes that if Iraqis do not join together by the end of the year to reach a political solution that is agreeable to the minority Sunnis, the United States should consider a timetable for withdrawal.

Now, there's the rub, huh? All the fantasies of neo-con nation building are about to go up in flames. With idiots like Casey in charge, who will be surprised?

| +Save/Share | |