With the admission that *it was possible* for Iraq to descend into civil war the Democrats think to run to December shouting “Quagmire! See Bush failed!”

Ok, now the “C” word is out on the table, but is it really that bad?

“Two of America’s top generals now say the situation in Iraq could soon turn into a full-fledged civil war, an assessment most experts agree will prove true if the United States doesn’t move quickly to provide security, jobs and an effective government in a nation long without any of those.

“We do have the possibility of that devolving into a civil war,” Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington on Thursday.

“Iraq could move toward civil war,” said Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East.

It was a rare use of the term “civil war” by anyone in the top echelons of American government. Other officials, from President Bush on down, have long contended that the term is inaccurate to describe the kind of fighting that has taken place in the past year.

But Pace and Abizaid told the Senate committee that the violence in Baghdad is as bad as they’ve seen it since the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003. Pace expressed surprise that the situation had unraveled as far as it has.”

Democrats and the left have seized on these statement and will soon issue their “cut and run” calls, wait and see. Moreover, as they lick their chops for November sensing VICTORY, if they do regain control, they will no doubt attempt to withdrawl our troops and support prematurely.

This would be a mistake.

“(John) Pike, from Globalsecurity.org, said the sectarian violence and prospect of civil war is a tactic being used by those who do not want a democratic or stable Iraq. “The thinking is, if you turn it up a little bit, the Americans will turn around and go home,” he said.

Pike said the stakes in Iraq remain high — not just for the future of the region, but the lives of everyday Iraqis.

“We are preventing a genocidal civil war that would make Bosnia look like a day at the beach,” he said. “That’s something worth fighting for.”

I agree with this article in the respect that wars create instability in their aftermath. This was true in post war Germany and especially in Japan, where incidently, the antiwar forces in this country and the world, claimed the postwar phase to be a failure as well. This isn’t to say that there weren’t misteps and miscalculations, all wars have them. But it’s only been three years and despite the present appearances it’s not as bad as some want to present.

The fact is that we have to stop being afraid of this “Civil war” possibility. We had one and survived, many other countries have theirs as well, and as John says, factions in Iraq have been fighting it out for a long time before we got there.

“Pike said what looks like civil war now has actually been going on for decades, only in a different manner. Before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the dominant Sunnis fought and killed both Shiites and Kurds at different times. It just wasn’t as equitable before.

“Complex is a good word in connection with Iraq,” he said. “Any comment about Iraq that does not include that word is incomplete.”

Exactly. The picture of what Iraq will eventually be isn’t clear, but then again, it took us a while to get our own act together. But there is a greater truth here too.

What many do not see is that since 2003 the US has been figthing terrorism where they are on their home ground, therefore the success of not having another attack since 9/11. You can’t argue with that success, and thank God for it.

Iraq will eventually become a success because they as a country – and other surrounding countries are beginning to understand that the past effort of refereeing warring factions (Camp David Accords and such) were no more than Band-Aids to the issue of middle east peace – they don’t work because you can’t negotiate with terrorists.

Since 2003 when this Nation began to finally challenge terrorism and say “No more”, did the dividing line between the failures of the past and the eventual success of the future become established.

The only thing standing in the way of middle east peace, and the end of terrorism is if those who believe in a cut and run strategy gain control of the country and take us back to what didn’t work and what ulimately led us to 9/11. That cannot be allowed to happen.