Anbar province handover delayed for infrastructure, economy, general says

[unhappycamper]

Source: Stars and Stripes

Anbar province handover delayed for infrastructure, economy, general says
By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, August 6, 2008

FALLUJAH, Iraq — "Very little" would change if Iraqis regained security control of Anbar province tomorrow, according to the commander of U.S. forces in the region, although the ceremony formally marking the handover has been delayed indefinitely.

Iraqi leaders postponed the ceremony due to fear that Americans would pull out of the region soon to focus elsewhere.

The event was originally scheduled for early July in the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi. At the time, U.S. officials said the ceremony was delayed because of weather. Since, Iraqi officials have balked at the handover.

"In Anbar, they love the Marines. If anyone tells you different, they are lying," said Brig. Gen. Ali, commander of an Iraqi unit in the area. "The Iraqi people are very happy Americans are helping them go from dark to light."

Read more: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56580

[LynnTheDem]

1. "The Iraqi people are very happy Americans are helping them go from dark to light."

:rofl:

This week the Baghdad government said it would reject any agreement on U.S. forces that "violates Iraq's sovereignty." That came days after tens of thousands of Shiites took to the streets to protest a proposed agreement that would keep U.S. forces there for years to come.

They chanted, "Get out, get out, occupier."
http://khnr.townhall.com/columnists/SteveChapman/2008/06/05/whose_iraq_is_it,_anyway

Shiites across Iraq protest U.S. presence
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20080531/ai_n25484814/pg_2

Iraqis Want U.S. Troops to Leave
http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/07/11/iraqis_want_us_troops_to_leave/5785/

[Tempest]

2. They're happy Americans are doing the fighting

And it's not them.

[Igel]

3. It's a pluralist society.

Treating it as a monolith amounts to a category error.

One of the more useful articles I've read in the last few months. Don't agree with it all, but there's a key insight that's usually overlooked (usually for purposes of self-aggrandizement).

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2008/08/11/080811crat_atlarge_lemann