Shiites push partition of Iraq

The LA Times reports a scary development in Iraq:
"Leaders of Iraq's powerful Shiite Muslim political bloc have begun aggressively promoting a radical plan to partition the country as a way of separating the warring sects. Some Iraqis are even talking about dividing the capital, with the Tigris River as a kind of Berlin Wall."

I've thought that the country would be better off partitioned along secretarian line since it was arbritrarily put together by western Europeans powers but the disproportional placement of valuable resources in the north and the south like oil and gas would leave the Sunni central area at a severe disadvantage.

I think it just illustrates the growing civil war in Iraq. If things aren't settled soon, I think Shiites will start to demand partition with military force: "rival Shiite militias with ties to political parties in government appear to be responsible for as much of Iraq's violence as Sunni insurgents are, and have been known to turn their guns on one another."

At this point, I think we can start withdrawing troops out of Iraq. I don't think that our high-level of military presence in Iraq is really having an impact where it matters and where the violence is at its worst- Baghdad. The best way we can have an impact in Iraq at this point is diplomatically rather than militarily. The US military can't settle the political and secretarian issues that trouble Iraq. I just hope Congress doesn't drag its heels on this issue and the victory of the anti-war Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont over Joe Lieberman yesterday is the beginning of a change in our foreign policy in Iraq. The public has increasingly turned on the War in Iraq as a recent poll shows that 60% of Americans are opposed to it. Furthermore "a majority of poll respondents said they would support the withdrawal of at least some U.S. troops by the end of the year." I hope Congress will be respondent to this change in public opinion and start withdrawing our troops.

There already are some signs of this. Recently, House and Senate Democratic leaders came together to sign a letter calling for Bush to begin withdrawing troops. This is a big step for Democrats who are constantly disconjointed when it comes to these issues. As Robert Dreyfuss writes:
"the Democratic leadership has drawn a line in the sand. On one side are the Republicans, arguing: Stay the course. On the other side, there are the Democrats, saying: Get out. That is a difference that even the most obtuse voter can get a handle on. It sets the stage for a bitter, take-no-prisoners battle over Iraq over the next three months. It is going to get ugly."

This is a step in the right direction for the Democratic Party. It needs , as ironically former Senator Barry Goldwater said, to "offer a choice, not an echo" for America to win back this country. Iraq is a good jumping point for that path.