In the midst of all the reporting on Britney Spears and the presidential race, an important story from Iraq seems to have been lost in the shuffle:
US Sets Timetable to Hand Over Iraq’s Largest Province
I would have missed this myself had I not set up a Yahoo! Alert for the word “Ramadi” back when my son-in-law was deployed there. According to this article, progress in this former hotbed of terrorism has been so dramatic that “over the past year, attacks in Ramadi have dropped from 25-30 every day to less than one a week.” The official handover is scheduled for March or April.
Another fact in this article that’s under-reported in the mainstream media is this: “If Anbar is handed over on schedule, it will be the 10th of Iraq’s 18 provinces to be returned to local control by the coalition.” Anyone who’s familiar with the geography of Iraq will appreciate the fact that Anbar province comprises a huge portion of country.
My son-in-law was deployed to Ramadi during the height of the violence there. I told him this summer when we visited him and our daughter in Germany that it was my hope that some day he’d be able to walk the streets of Ramadi in peace. He’s due to redeploy this spring, so maybe he’ll have that opportunity.
I’ve been very skeptical of arbitrary timetables for withdrawal from Iraq that are based on failure rather than success, but this is a timetable I can live with.
I told him this summer when we visited him and our daughter in Germany that it was my hope that some day he’d be able to walk the streets of Ramadi in peace.
That of course is a noble thought, but there will never be peace there. Soon as we are gone, if ever, the radicals both foreign and local will move back in.
We need to understand the true nature of Islam. There will be no peace until all bow to Allah. We need the help of the world and have the desire to break the back of Islam.
I hate to see him go back. I hate to see any go the way the war is currently being handled. I will hope for his safety and the safety of all there.
Study all you can about Islam, Iraq, Iran, Saudi, whatever really is irelevent. The war should be against Islam. Here is a good start http://www.crisismagazine.com/april2002/cover.htm
That of course is a noble thought, but there will never be peace there.
It will take a paradigm shift of monumental proportions, but when I see this kind of reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites in Anbar province:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/10/a-shiite-awaken.html
and in Diyala province:
http://www2.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/Lists/Current%20Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=5733
and even between Muslims and Christians:
http://michaelyon-online.com/wp/come-home.htm
it makes me wonder if we’re finally beginning to witness that paradigm shift, at least in Iraq.
Sadly, it’s been two steps forward and one step back, even in the past 24 hours:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hPRJ8qniu_if5wEsOeP3CqR-XBmw
Time alone will tell whether the progress of the last six months will continue. For the sake of my son-in-law, the Iraqis, the rest of the region, and the world at large, I’ll continue to pray that it will.