scatter:
excellent response. the connection between the high voter turnout and a strong sense of "country" is very important. i thank you for reminding me.
i think that such a civil war is unlikely in the near future. not impossible, certainly, but im not sure the alignment of purpose is balanced or organized enough to produce more than the steady stream of insurgency and regular acts of isolated terrorism. but that is also one of the reasons, perhaps, that i have overlooked the connection between the high voter turnout and the sense of country. this goes back to the reason i wrote this article. all the facts (thank you couchman) and stories and maps and predicitons i get have such a slant, largly unacknowledged by whomever is producing them (sorry couchman) that i dont have any idea what sort of sentiment makes the rounds in iraqi circles.
i think it would be ridiculous to think that the iraqi people want saddam back (though i wont discount any possibility . . . someone probably longs nostalgically for the days when hoover ran the show, and, based on several unfortunate internet site encounters, there are nuttos aplenty wishing for any of the several fascist mustachios to return to finish what they started) nor should they. but what kind of purpose are they looking for? thats when my hope dies, because i have a hard time imagining that they want too much more than an assurance against looters, safe streets, and living children.
and i could not agree with you more: i would love to feel some confidence in the assumed fact that cold political analysis is taking place somewhere important.
tbt
