Baghdad gains not matched on political front

Baghdad gains not matched on political front
By Robert H. Reid - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 20, 2007 5:52:10 EST

BAGHDAD — The drop in bombings and killings in Baghdad is a welcome change from years of slaughter. But U.S. commanders and many Iraqis fear the relative quiet won’t last without substantial political agreements among the country’s sectarian leaders.

The fear: Sunni and Shiite extremist groups responsible for the carnage are still around — bloodied but not destroyed. And many of the key power-sharing issues that fueled the conflict remain unresolved.

Without agreements to resolve them, the conflict could flare up again, as it did after previous lulls. And some of the measures that have helped ease the violence could backfire, triggering new bloodshed.

“The aim of this military operation was to find a period of time to achieve reconciliation among Iraqis,” said Dr. Saad al-Hadithi, a political science professor at Baghdad University. “But if the government is hesitant and lacks confidence, then this lull will not last for long.”

Time is running out. Starting next spring, the U.S. is expected to begin withdrawing the nearly 30,000 reinforcements that President Bush ordered to Iraq this year at the height of the Shiite-Sunni slaughter.

Without those additional forces, it is uncertain whether those security gains can be maintained unless the Iraqis themselves resolve their differences politically and move toward national healing.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_iraqpolitics_071119/