Irony seems to be the new ingredient added to today's newspapers. In one headline it reads, "Bomb kills 4 soldiers" and directly beneath it is another headline reading "U.S.: Crackdown working". I don't know if the U.S. government is reading the same paper the rest of the world is? Yesterday, four U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb and at least fourteen people were killed in a car bombing elsewhere in Baghdad. Meanwhile, Major General Joseph Fil Jr. told reporters, "There's a sense of suspicion in the air. A sense of anticipation and expectation (of decreased violence) with the Iraqi people,". I don't know about you but the first sentence doesn't really match the second one. If there is suspicion in the air, I doubt it is because Iraqis are anticipating a "decrease" in violence. Fil Jr. must have also been in charge of the placement of the two headlines above.
Also, in a predominantly Sunni region of the world, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has proven himself to be a valuable ally in stablizing peace in Iraq. Previously, the Bush Administration felt that he would be irrelevant and even detrimental to peace in Iraq. Oops, I guess they were wrong (again). It seems now that not only does Sadr have firm control over many of the Shiites in Baghdad including his Mahdi Army, but he has the ability to wage peace as well as war. When U.S. troops went into Sadr City they met no resistence and Sadr has become a vital player in installing peace in Iraq. Let's just see if Bush will "stay the course" or reevaluate his diplomatic relations with those willing to work for peace.
Regardless of Sadr's willingness to wage peace, many of his loyal Shiites still dissaprove of the U.S. presence in Iraq. "They are an occupation force. We refuse their presence totally." said Mohammad Abu Haider--a Mahdi Army commander. (This was a quote from msn.com.)
It would be nice if we could only send peacefull diplomatic advisors to Iraq to help rebuild peace in the region but we all know even they would have their own hidden agendas slipped into their pockets by the Bush Administration.
It is really sad that Bush took all of the patriotism and national pride built up post-9/11 and used it to his twisted advantage. Young Americans signed up for the armed services all over the country to fight for America in its time of need and how does Bush use them? He sends them to Iraq to be killed fighting for oil and profit. Bush has clearly shown utter disregard for the U.S. Constitution, American patriotism, foreign relations and human life. The next time he or Cheney want to make a speech to the American people perhaps they would be more careful about what they said if they spoke in a Baghdad marketplace at noon.