I just read this:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/22259.html
After a moment's reflection, it dawned on me: the Dead-Enders are back!!
Remember the Dead-Enders? No, not the clique that is running and ruining the United States.
The Dead-Enders, if you recall, was Dick Cheney’s way of belittling the Iraqi resistance during the early days of the American occupation. The Dead-Enders were “remnants” of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist army who, we were assured, would be “mopped up” within weeks.
Well not only did we fail to mop them up, they are thriving like mice in the pantry. But the good news is that they are on our side, or at least for now which is why we no longer refer to them as Dead-Enders.
The so-called “surge”, you see, is merely a cover story for a much more profound shift in American policy. The Americans have finally realized that they will never woo the Shiites away from Iran. With the key support of an anti-Shiite alliance (Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt), America has been making overtures to the Sunni tribesmen and ex-Baath party officials who only months ago were organising and planting IEDs with devastating effect.
It sounds risky but a quick overview of several inter-twined scenarios and rationales shed light on the new American eagerness to establish a Sunni proxy army. These include:
1) An American attack on Iran. Sunni troops can be thrown into battle against Shiites in the event of Iranian/Shiite retaliation against “coalition” troops in Iraq.
2) A decision to carve up Iraq into sectarian “thirds”.The Sunni statelet will need a standing army to defend its sovereignty and the economic and political interests of its foreign sponsors.
3) Baghdad drifts completely into Tehran's orbit. With a bit of hard training and discipline, the most promising Dead-Enders will be re-molded into the praetorian guard of a revolutionary council that will swing into action and topple the central government.
Stories of how we are "defeating al-Qaeda", “reducing violence”, “keeping Iraq from falling apart”, and “winning hearts and mind” are for the ignorant masses high on FoxNews and CNN. This is the last gambit to stave off a total defeat at the hands of Iran.
And how long will this marriage of convenience last? 3 months? 6 months? A year? Does anyone really believe that all is forgiven after 4 years of savage occupation?
I wonder if George Bush can hear Saddam's bones rattling with laughter.
