The collapse of Basra shows the problem of pulling out of Iraq. But it also shows how the divisions in Iraq are deep and complicated and how they may intensify no matter if we leave Iraq tomorrow or in 10 years.
Basra in south Iraq had been hailed as a success story. But as British forces have pulled back, violence has taken over, the Washington Post reported. But it’s not Sunnis against Shiites; it’s Shiite militias battling one another for control. As a result, the city is now plagued by "the systematic misuse of official institutions, political assassinations, tribal vendettas, neighborhood vigilantism and enforcement of social mores, together with the rise of criminal mafias that increasingly intermingle with political actors," according to a report by the International Crisis Group.
U.S. officials in Baghdad worry that what has happened in Basra could happen to the Iraqi national government when the United States leaves: Shiites will turn on one another, and the government will collapse — not that it isn’t already almost at that point.
But is a collapse inevitable no matter when we leave? And if so, should we leave sooner rather than later?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Maybe it started out as some kind of prank, but a police officer could have been killed this week in Wichita. Fortunately, someone else with respect for the badge averted potential tragedy by alerting the officer to the object lodged in the patrol car’s gas tank — a fireworks mortar shell big enough to have destroyed the car if detonated. Realizing that someone in our community would do such an appalling thing is offset somewhat by knowing there are many more who’d act as the motorist did — to protect those who protect us.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The local anti-gaming group, flush with victory in Tuesday’s vote, is now setting its sights on Topeka and lawmakers who approved gaming. “Every Democrat or Republican who voted for it is going to be vulnerable,” Kahrs told The Eagle’s Mark McCormick. “Both parties are going to lose incumbents over this issue.”
I’m not convinced. The anti-gaming coalition won’t hold together in the wake of this vote, which was about Wichita’s future. The concerned business leaders and most voters got what they wanted: no casino here. Most aren’t going to be interested in a punitive crusade — that really will be just about social conservatives pushing their moral agenda.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
It makes your stomach churn a bit to learn that the Food and Drug Administration, the agency charged with protecting the nation’s food supply, allowed at least 1 million pounds of suspect seafood from China to enter our country without inspecting it — despite issuing an alert that was supposed to trigger automatic inspections of the food, according to the Associated Press.
It doesn’t inspire confidence.
FDA officials put the imports on a suspect list after concerns they might be tainted with banned carcinogens or antibiotics.
Critics point out the obvious: If the FDA doesn’t have the resources to address known risks, how many unknown risks is it letting slip into our food supply?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
An Alabama judge awarded $3,000 to a motorist who was arrested for disorderly conduct after flipping off a cop and yelling a curse at him. In the decision, Judge Michael E. McMaken wrote that cops are expected to have “thicker skin” and “endure more outrageous behavior” than the average citizen.
Probably true. Still, how much abuse should cops have to endure? We think motorists who give officers a one-finger salute are cruising for trouble.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
