(Think Progress) George Will: "This Is A Civil War"
Even George Will has recognized that Iraq is in a state of civil war. He puts the issue nicely: "Now, does Iraq have a government? Let me just postulate the question. A government exists when it has a reasonable monopoly on the legitimate use of violence. As long as the militias are out there, the existence of an Iraqi government is questionable." The quote I italicized is a standard sociological definition of one of the chief powers of government, the monopoly on legitimate violence--one may break it down as keeping the internal peace and providing defense from external threats. All governments, good or bad, have this monopoly. Not only is there now rage against the American occupation, which was not envisioned by our brilliant administration, but sectarian violence threatens the newly born "government," also unenvisioned. The CIA, the Pentagon brass, all warned the administration what it was getting into. The American public is the loser for it. WE are the ones who will have to pay for this bullshit, and not just in money. Yes, the Iraqis are their own worst enemies--but WE are the ones they and the rest of the Arab world will blame. When even that warmonger Bill O'Reilly starts to wonder if we should pull out ... perhaps it's time for coitus interruptus.
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4:29:33 AM 
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