First, a bit of context. The US invasion originally tipped the balance of power from the Sunnis to the Shiites. Now that the Shiites have won the elections in Iraq and are taking this whole sovereignty thing seriously, Bush is now trying to play political footsie with the Sunnis.
Iraqi Shi'ites alarmed at US detente with Sunnis
Growing suspicions among leaders of Iraq's Shi'ite majority that the United States is shifting its favour toward once dominant Sunnis are fuelling the tensions that have broken into the open between Baghdad and Washington.
Iraq's ethnic Kurds share the concerns, which senior Shi'ite Muslim officials say are at the root of the public spat over security between Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President George W. Bush's top officials in Iraq.
"We feel there is an American-Sunni agreement under way ... to give Sunnis more authority," a senior Shi'ite government official said, before Maliki's dramatic order on Tuesday for U.S. troops to end a blockade of a Shi'ite militia stronghold.
"This will only escalate the situation."
Sunni insurgents, many loyal to ousted leader Saddam Hussein, and al Qaeda's Sunni Islamists bombers are behind much of the violence that has plagued Iraq since the U.S. invasion.
So, you might ask, what is wrong with reaching out to Sunnis? Isn't that part of the political process--to protect minorities?
Well, protecting minorities is. Releasing terrorists and pro-Saddam murderers certainly isn't.
While our stupid media focuses on a debate between two mumblers and stumblers, check out what's making the news in Iraq:
Iraq state TV accuses US of releasing "terrorist"
Iraq's state-funded television station said on Wednesday the U.S. military had released a "terrorist" after he was captured by the Iraqi army, at a time when tension between Baghdad and Washington is high.
Iraqiya television named the man as Atta Hadi al-Zaidi and said he was responsible for sectarian violence and forcing people to move out of the violence-prone Diyala province.>
A government source confirmed the release of Zaidi, a former Iraqi army Brigadier under Saddam Hussein.
To recap:
Bush is taking orders from a pro-Iran Shiite zealot/thug in Baghdad, and is being 'fair and balanced' by releasing pro-Saddam Sunni thugs/terrorists. He's appeasing terrorists and murderers on every side of the Iraqi civil war.
Now THAT is a real scandal. I'm not going to ask Mr. Bush to apologize. I DEMAND that Mr. Bush tell the truth to the American people and explain why he's putting our troops into harm's way and then appeasing the people kidnapping and killing our troops.
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