Going To War in Iraq Was Supposed to Bring Peace and Democracy To the Middle East

Wa happen? It was perfectly planned out by those lovable neo-cons in the Administration. It was foolproof said the neo-con gnomes when asked to explain their plan which they did thusly:

1) Go to War in Iraq

2) ????????

3) Peace and Democracy in the Middle East

Man, now I'm starting to think that I was a bit naive to buy a foreign policy model based on stealing underpants...ahem...I mean going to war with Iraq.

So how is the Middle East doing?

Iraq - The deaths and sectarian violence continues, there's word of more troops in Baghdad where the US seems to be caught smack dab in the middle of a civil war.

There is much impatience on the part of Turkey against the Kurds in the South of Turkey and in the Iraqi north as pressure mounts for Ankara to deal more harshly with Kurdish seperatists attacking from Iraq. According to Newsweek, 15 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the last week by acts of terror from Kurdish seperatists. As the article notes, Israel went to war with Lebanon (with US tacit support) for less, but I doubt the US would support Turkish claims that it has a right to defend its self and cross into Iraq with troops.

Already the Turkish military has laid detailed plans for possible helicopter-and-commando assaults, government sources tell NEWSWEEK. Meanwhile, Ankara's frustration with Washington has grown palpable. For all the Bush administration's repeated promises to crack down on the PKK, little if anything has happened.

The pressure mounts for Turkey to send in troops and I cannot even comprehend what will happen in such event. All I can say is that it probably wouldn't be a good thing.

Israel/Palestinian Territories - Israel rocket attacks and incursions continue in Gaza in the wake of the kidnapping of Israeli officer Capt. Gilad Shalit by the militant-wing of Hamas. As I have argued, the militant-wing of Hamas seems to have kidnapped Shalit in order to derail progress and eliminate pressure that brought the PA, controlled by the "governing-wing" of Hamas, from recognizing Israel. Like that will happen now.

There is this bit of good news though. There may be a deal - brokered by PA President Mahmoud Abbas - to stop the Qassam rocket attacks on Israel and to return the kidnapped soldier.

Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have agreed to stop firing rockets at Israel and to free a captured Israeli soldier in a deal brokered by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.

The deal, agreed on Sunday, is to halt the rocket attacks in return for a cessation of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, and to release Corporal Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured on June 25, in exchange for the freeing of Palestinian prisoners at some point in the future.

An adviser to Mr Abbas told the Guardian that all Palestinian politicians were united on the need to free the Israeli soldier and stop all violence in Gaza, but the obstacles were the Israeli government and the Hamas leadership in Damascus.

At this point the agreement seems hinged on Hamas' leaders in Damascus giving the go ahead, and on the Israeli's agreeing to it as well. Here's to hope.

Lebanon - Where to start. I'll try and keep it short. The bombing continues in Lebanon, the Katyushas continue to rain down on northern Israel, the Israeli's have their hands full rooting Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon villages such as Bint Jubail and Maroun Al-Ras. Not entirely secure by Israel, and as I am writing this I hear word that attempts to mop up Hezbollah in these villages were met by a Hezbollah counter-attack. More in future post.

The IDF has shelled and bombed a UN base filled with UN peacekeepers attached to the UNIFIL force on the border of Lebanon, 4 peacekeepers were killed. The four monitors came from Austria, Canada, China and Finland. The UN Sec. General has criticizing Israel for the sustained bombing of the base and an investigation will likely occur as to how this could have happened.

Israel asserts that it was a mistake but there is speculation that it was on purpose stemming from reports that the UN peacekeeping base called and warned the Israel military on several occasions during the bombardment that they were the ones being bombed. UN vehicles coming to evacuate those in the destroyed base also came under fire.

Jane Lute, the assistant secretary general for peacekeeping, told the UN security council that the base came under close Israeli fire 21 times - including 12 hits within 100 metres and four direct hits - from 1.20pm until contact was lost with the four peacekeepers inside at 7.17pm.

Ms Lute said the peacekeeping force had protested to the Israeli army after each firing incident. The UN's deputy secretary general, Mark Malloch Brown, and Ms Lute herself also made several calls to Israel's mission to the UN "reiterating these
protests and calling for an abatement of the shelling", she said.

After contact with the base was lost, Unifil then won safe passage for two armoured
personnel carriers to evacuate the position, she said. They arrived at 9.30pm "and found the shelter collapsed and major damage to the rest of the position". Despite negotiating safe passage, the APCs also came under Israeli attack, Ms Lute said.

That's it for now, as I've already gone long with this post. More in future posts.