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Rich,
The cliché on “the south” of Iraq arose from the fact that troubles there were not attributed to Sunni-Baathist death squads but as a result of Shiite militias and other groups vying for power without resorting to serial car bombings and extended firefights. Reports have seeped out of Basra for months that the Brits, who tended to look down their noses at us when it came to counterinsurgency, have simply looked the other way as Shiite groups supplanted the authority of central (or even provincial) officials. Nevertheless, we should be heartened that the Iraqi PM is leading on this. Stung by charges of wanting to cut and run, the Dem’s long ago adopted this position that the Iraqis should be doing more to help themselves (even some on the right have joined this misinformed chorus). Despite the fact that the Iraqis have taken most of the military casualties (and all of the civilian ones) for many months now, and despite the fact that large areas are indeed under the control of Iraqi units, anti-war types made it look as though Iraqi leaders were content to sit back and let us do all the fighting and bleeding–and leading. So, al-Maliki’s “iron fist” approach is (or should be) most welcome to those who HONESTLY wish to see Iraq succeed….