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What? Peace And A Booming Economy In Iraq? 
By Tom Pain
Jun. 18, 2007 Previously Published On Dec. 5, 2005 (Editor's Note: Tom Pain, a political prognosticator par excellence, is painfully shy about presenting his peerless predictions in public. Lucky for our faithful readers, the U-K Editor is not. Once per week, our tireless Editorial Staff will dig hungrily through our archives and re-post Tom's best material. We hope you enjoy reading these wonderfully written pieces -- a second time -- as much as we did.) ------------ It’s true. Peace and prosperity has come to Iraq. Investment has flooded in and construction projects are rolling along in complete safety. It’s amazing! “But wait,” you say, “all I see in the papers are stories of suicide bombers, assassinations, and kidnappings. I don’t believe foreign contractors could possibly be safe enough to be openly working on unguarded construction sites.” Ah, but the liberal media does not want you to read about Iraqi success. It neither sells papers, generates TV ratings, nor advances the Democratic Party’s cause to show a successful Iraq. But that does not mean it isn’t so. In northern Iraq, in the area controlled by the Kurds, the booming economy and peace is exactly as I describe. It is so good there that an estimated 20-25% of all Iraqis now live in that area, many having moved from the Shia and Sunni dominated areas of the country. In that section, we see all the potential that a Democratic Iraq offers and the fulfillment of President Bush’s vision. It appears that the rest of the country is finally taking notice as well. In the upcoming elections, the Kurds will play kingmaker. Although they only represent 17-18% of the population, the Shia majority is splintered among competing factions. Plus, with that additional population gain from Iraqi refugees, they rightfully deserve a higher percentage of the country’s budget and a greater share of its resources. The Sunnis have noticed. You will not see their regions boycott this next election. By forging an unlikely alliance with the Kurds, the union could defeat the bickering Shia. Even if the Kurds do not accept that alliance, and their treatment at the hands of the Sunnis over the last decades makes that unlikely, the mere threat gives them tremendous sway over the Shia. And the Israelis have noticed. Rumors have their military advisors working with the Kurds to strengthen their defenses and develop anti-terrorists strategies. Since Israel is technically still at war with Iraq, such activity would be illegal, but is Mossad any less ethical than our own CIA? Now, if we could just get the Iranians on board with the plan. Unfortunately, that is probably still a decade away, but it almost seems inevitable. With fully 40% of their population under the age of 30, and with one of the most educated populations in the Middle East, it seems inevitable that the Ayatollah’s grip on the country will abate. But at this point, if they will just drop their nuclear ambitions, the entire region could stabilize quickly as the insurgents would be surrounded by stability in a small area of northwestern Iraq and Syria. Of course, this does not dismiss the very real threat of Al-Quaeda cells throughout the world, and those cells will be nearly impossible to detect. Still, without a government to call their own, their fugitive life in the caves of Asia will not seem so attractive to would-be converts. To withdraw from Iraq when victory is so attainable, and so important to the future of millions, would be unconscionable. ------------ About the author Tom Pain: it hurts. Email: thomas.pain@direcway.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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