Submitted by Jason Pappas, Dec 18, 2006 09:09

There is a new consensus that is emerging that suggests a third alternative: support the Shiites in the civil war. Ralph Peters writing last week in his syndicated column and Robert Haddick writing on TCS Daily argue that a unified Iraq isn't likely as I mentioned here.<">here.

I'd argue that Iraq has been in a civil war on and off for 30 years. Besides when a dictator (like Tito) or colonial power (as in India) is removed, civil war and ethnic cleansing is usually the result (as in Yugoslavia and India after the British.) We don't want to be in the middle of this and we can't police the region. It's time to let the Iraqis settle this their way.

Our only interest is that the Sunni jihadi aren't galvanized by a win as they were when the USSR withdrew from Afghanistan. Thus, we have to support the Shiites as loathsome as it might be. Let's remember that we had to support Stalin to defeat Hitler.

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