What should we do in Iraq?

The Winter 2005-6 issue of Middle East Policy has made available online the full text of its published transcript of a 10/15/05 symposium focusing on Iraq and Iran: A Shia Crescent: What Fallout for the U.S.?

It's a really informative piece, and even though some important things have happened since October, it still sheds a lot of light on the current situation that one is very unlikely to encounter on FOX News.

One of the participants was Juan Cole, who has become a familiar name to bloggers following the Iraq War (and who also runs one of the best blogs on the Web himself). I was struck by this passage. In response to a question about what the US should do now in Iraq, Cole responded:

Well, you know, Muqtada al-Sadr formed this militia in the summer of 2003. And ultimately it came into conflict with the Marines in the spring of 2004. And Muqtada was in a difficult position, and he went to Grand Ayatollah Sistani, and he said to the Grand Ayatollah, he said, if you give the order, I will dissolve this militia. So Sistani is a canny old man and he knew he was being drawn into something, and he didn't want to. He said, well, you didn't ask me before you formed the militia - (scattered laughter) - so I have the same feeling about this question about what we should do.

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