Monday, December 06, 2010

Iraq's neighbors suck

'Iraq's relations with its neighbors represent a critical element in its efforts to maintain security and stability and normalize its position in the Gulf and the broader region. While Iraq made substantial progress in 2008-09 on these fronts, there remained unfinished business, especially in terms of relations with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Syria. The August 19 bombings -- targeting the MFA, and by extension Iraq's improving relations with its neighbors -- represent a serious setback to that progress and have alarmed senior Iraqi officials that Iraqi Sunni Arab neighbors in particular now view those earlier gains as "reversible." Iraq views relations with Saudi Arabia as among its most challenging, given Riyadh's money, deeply ingrained anti-Shia attitudes, and suspicions that a Shia-led Iraq will inevitably further Iranian regional influence. Iraqi contacts assess that the Saudi goal (and that of most other Sunni Arab states, to vary degrees) is to enhance Sunni influence, dilute Shia dominance and promote the formation of a weak and fractured Iraqi government. Coincidentally, Iranian efforts are driven by a clear determination to see a sectarian, Shia-dominated government that is weak, disenfranchised from its Arab neighbors, detached from the U.S. security apparatus and strategically dependent on Iran. Neither of these objectives is in the U.S. interest. In the longer term, we will need to flesh out ideas for a post-GCC security architecture that includes Iraq more fully, develops ways to contain Iranian regional influence, and shapes the special position Iraq will likely occupy in the Gulf in ways that further our interests and those of our Gulf partners.'

22 comments :

Mister Ghost said...

Yes, but it sucks worse inside Iraq. )))

Muhannad, your co-religionists want to return to joys of 7th century living:

LA Times

A majority of Muslims around the world welcome a significant role for Islam in their countries’ political life, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center...

According to the survey, majorities in Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria would favor changing current laws to allow stoning as a punishment for adultery, hand amputation for theft and death for those who convert from Islam to another religion. About 85% of Pakistani Muslims said they would support a law segregating men and women in the workplace.

Iraqi Mojo said...

Scroll down the sidebar of my blog to see the link to No To Political Islam, which has been there since 2007.

Iraqi Mojo said...

Also remember, Mister Teabagger, it sucks inside Iraq partly because Iraq's neighbors encouraged jihadis to fight in Iraq because Americans were there. Bush said "bring em on" and so the jihadis from all over the world went to Iraq and helped kill thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis.

It has sucked more in Iraq for decades, also partly due to American bombings and US-led sanctions. Your peeps bombed Iraq in the name of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Iraqis who hated Saddam were killed and maimed in the American liberation of Iraq.

Your co-religionists are also dumbfounded dipshits, it seems, Mister Teabagger.

C.H. said...

Mojo,

Ghost belongs to the isolationist, Ron Paul movement...the right-wing of the right-wing, if I may say so.

He would have been content with leaving Iraq under Bill Clinton's genocidal sanctions and "containment" policy. Its a strange convergence...the far-right and the far-left sound almost indistinguishable when it comes to the Middle East.

C.H. said...

"Yes, but it sucks worse inside Iraq."

That's debatable...Iraq has free press, the latest technology, a booming econonomy, and a well-trained, efficient military. Iraq seems like a better place to be than Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, or Syria.

Dolly said...

Right... So if you had to choose between owning a condo in Riyadh or Mosul, it would be a no-brainer for C.H.

Imam Shafi'i said 1200 years ago:
"I have not seen among the heretics a people more famous for falsehood than the Raafidi Shi'a."

Dolly said...

Is Mr. Ghost really a Paulite, I support Ron Paul. He understands what's going on, both in economics & foreign policy

C.H. said...

Its nice to see Dolly has found a friend on this blog.

Iraqi Mojo said...

'Zakaria had asked Maher about the Tea Party's relationship to religion. "When you watched Glenn Beck's rally, what's fascinating is that it was mostly about religion," he said.'

Anonymous said...

Mojo,

How can u seperate government law from islamic law if you are a muslim?

So if the quran for example prescribes a punsiehment for adultrey, was this law not intended to be applied????

Bruno said...

Oddly enough, I too found many of Ron Paul's positions on Iraq commendable. Although I can't say I know much about his domestic policies in the US.

But yes, if America had left the Iraqis alone in the first place (including supporting Saddam) it would be far better off.

I also, in addition to cheering for a more isolationist America, think Americans should spend American money on helping their own, instead of killing Iraqis, Afghans and whoever else.

In ten or twenty years, when America has tanked, y'all will look back at these years and wonder why you hadn't spent 2-3 trillion dollars on US roads, education, health etc instead of blowing it in Iraq.

C.H. said...

In the meantime, Bruno, you should wonder why you have not spent the last 7 years pointing out the horrors facing South Africa...like the fact that you have some of the world's highest murder, HIV, and road accident rates on earth, among other things. Instead, you decided to spend your days reveling in Iraq's suffering and cheering on the "resistance".

C.H. said...

"Oddly enough, I too found many of Ron Paul's positions on Iraq commendable."

Damn...I'm shocked. Really??

Maury said...

I'd like to put Mister Ghost, Dolly, and Bruno in a room together, and see which keeps their head attached the longest.

Even better. How about bin Laden, Assad, and Khameini together on a deserted island? I don't think they'd stay butt buddies for long.

Iraqi Mojo said...

"So if the quran for example prescribes a punsiehment for adultrey, was this law not intended to be applied????"

It was intended to be applied 1,400 years ago. It does not belong in modern society.

In Iran the punishment for adultery is often death by stoning. It is most barbaric and inhumane. If this is Islam, then yes please keep Islam away from the state's legal system.

Iraqi Mojo said...

' Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was a regional menace that sent shudders through its neighbors. Today’s Iraqi leaders are struggling to restrain the ambitions of the countries that share Iraq’s porous borders, eye the country’s rich resources and vie for influence.

“All Iraq’s neighbors were interfering, albeit in different ways, the Gulf and Saudi Arabia with money, Iran with money and political influence, and the Syrians by all means,” Jalal Talabani, Iraq’s president and the senior Kurdish official in the government, told Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in a Dec. 10, 2009, meeting, according to a diplomatic cable. “The Turks are ‘polite’ in their interference, but continue their attempts to influence Iraq’s Turkmen community and Sunnis in Mosul.”

With American troops preparing to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011, the meddling threatens to aggravate the sectarian divisions in the country and undermine efforts by Iraq’s leaders to get beyond bitter rivalries and build a stable government. It also shows how deeply Iraq’s leaders depend on the United States to manage that meddling, even as it exposes the increasing limits on America’s ability to do so.'

Dolly said...

If you are having issues with ALL neighbors, then the real problem is you.

How arrogant to assume that all these (diverse) countries are wrong, and you are in the right by definition.

Iraqi Mojo said...

Assume? The fact that Iraq's neighbors suck (for Iraq) is well established.

Anonymous said...

dear Mojo,
" Tea=baggers " Have you got a problem with right-wing Christian America ?
You like to criticize Sadddam's rule ...but, we sent our kids to do that job, and I don't think you even showed up for the fight.
" Civilian deaths "??? Your plan was What ???.. Remove Saddam with cupcakes, and icecream ?
bushtheliberator

Iraqi Mojo said...

bushtheliberator,

Thank you for liberating Iraq, even though it was 12 years late.

I'm not a military expert, but I don't believe it was necessary to bomb Iraq like the US did in 2003 in order to bring down Saddam's regime.

I don't have a problem with right-wing Christian Americans until they repeatedly attack me for being a Muslim. Right wing Christians seem to lump all Muslims together. Mister Ghost seems unable to have a civil conversation with me; he's attacked me often for "defending" Shiite militias. If pointing out that Shiite militias haven't killed Iraqis like Al Qaeda has, then I guess I have defended Shiite militias. Mister Ghost has a problem with this and he's constantly disrespecting me even though I've thanked him for discussing FGM in Kurdistan. If he continues to be a schmuck, I'll continue to call him Mister Teabagger.

But always been kind, bushtheliberator. Thank you for your comments, and thanks again for liberating Iraq.

Iraqi Mojo said...

But YOU've always been kind, I mean. I think a few conservatives read my blog, and I'm glad they do. I don't mean to offend any of them. My comments are directed straight at Mister Ghost.

Non Sectarian Sunni Guy said...

these people rule arabia:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40559179/ns/us_news-wikileaks_in_security/