"I don't believe there's any civil war going on,"
REALLY???????????
(Well, who really cares what word you choose to use to describe the reality on the ground. It is what it is. Locals are bent upon fighting each other --- and anyone else in their way --- to capture wealth, power, control, and for religious/tribal/ethnic reasons.)
One thing that I believe is likely, though: If the US would smartly remove our troops' blocking position from the middle of the war zone, there *would be* increased violence (Hell, even Bush says this all the time! :-), and then even you, GZ, would have NO REASON AT ALL to not call what is going on a 'civil war'... possibly even (if it then escalates as I expect), it would be something *larger* then a mere 'civil war': it would be a major regional conflict pitting the mostly Arab Sunni/Saudi side against the mostly Persian Shiite/Iranian side.
All to the LONG-TERM benefit of America and the West!
"if so, then how come the leaders of one side or another don't claim victory for one or another attack?"
What? (Oh, pls... who judges anything by the propaganda?????? Suggest you look at the rising death tolls, or rising attack numbers, or rising funding for the conflict... when you are deciding whether you want to call it a 'civil war'... or something different, like 'heavy traffic with a strong hint of ethnic cleansing and murder/rape/mayhem. :-)
"The troops in the field are largely up beat and gungho about their missions, and they feel very solid about what they're doing..."
Of course... they are the best in the world.
(But, that says NOTHING about whether the war they have been committed to represents a WISE or a FOOLISH and HARMFUL policy for America to follow.... That is an ENTIRELY different matter.)
"The insurgent terrorists, by and large, are coming from iran and this has already been proven..."
Here you choose to DISAGREE with the United States Government, it's Intelligence services, and the US Military's *official positions* (not to mention such commonsense matters as *actual body counts*, and other verifications).
What all have said (& what evidence shows) is that '80%+' of the 'insurgents' are ALL IRAQIS... and most of them are from the Sunni community which is rebelling against the Shia-dominated government that holds power now. |
