I hope that the US Troop reinforcements will help to quell the sectarian violence in Baghdad. Unfortunately, I believe it will play out like this. For a few days, the insurgents will step back and regroup. The US Government will declare a "win" and the Bush Administration will pat themselves on the back and talk of great success. The insurgents will then target the U.S. Military - there will be a huge increase in American and Iraqi casualties. In the end - nothing will change, except that several dozen more Americans soldiers who should have gone home will be dead.

Very well written and should be followed up on. Why, though, do you quote a "doctor" who becomes an expert on occupation. What was his response hen you asked him "what did he blame the murders and terror on prior to our involvement" and "what have YOU done to help with the infrstructure". The story is chilling and should be told but without personal bias.

The mass graves used to justify the US invasion of Iraq are back.

how do we disarm Sadr's militias? Easy...we kill them. We do to Sadr City and Najaf exactly what Israel has done to the towns in Lebanon before striking them. We spread the message far and wide that Hell is coming and direct potential informers to their local police station...then get outta town. Give it 48 hours and flatten the place.

The longer we play pattycake with the barbarians, the longer they have to kill us all. There is no talk that can lead us all to holding hands. They want to kill us or make us bow to their flavor of Jihad.

We will either fight them now on our terms or later on their terms. Let's do it now.

How does one define 'civil war'? What's the difference between 'sectarian violence' and civil war? How much worse would it get if we withdrew coalition troops?

It seems to me Americans have become almost immune to the daily death toll, especially with the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict taking over the bulk of the news coverage.

If we actually 'redeployed' to Kuwait or to the Kurdish region or out altogether, wouldn't that make matters that much worse, but even less imortant to Americans?

There does seem to be a consensus building here to either send everything we have there or get out. It's easy to criticize the failure to secure Iraq, repair the infrastructure and provide secutity, but isn't it possible Iraq was a nation cobbled together by occupying countires eighty years ago and once the genie was out of the bottle with the removal of the dictator, there was no turning back?

Using the Yugoslavian model, perhaps those who call for partition and setting up separate ehnic states have the right idea. There can't be sectarian violence if each sect retreats to their respective territories.

If people don't want help you can't help them. Bring our troops home. Let Saddam go. He can control those idiots.

On the eve of the invasion of Iraq, the dissenters had two major reasons. 1) It was unjust to invade, and based on bad intelligence. 2) Without Saddam, all hell would break loose between the factions. It seems like BOTH came true, to my horror.

More of our troops in Iraq just means that more of our troops are going to be killed or maimed. Enough! It is one thing to not give up when things get tough, it is another entirely to press on with the same old tactics despite years of failure.

You can add two and two together for the rest of your life...but you are insane if you think you'll ever get a result other than four.

Our generals said last week that Iraq may be heading for civil war. It is already in civil war why don't they just face the truth. We need to get out now and Bush says the next president will bring home our troops because he does not have the courage to admit he was wrong in invading Iraq. When he said mission accomplished he should have brought them home. That was when we should have started with drawing.

Since we are so proud of the democracy we created for the Iraqi's, perhaps they should be allowed to vote on our continued presence in their country. If they vote for us to leave, we do so. If they vote for us to stay, we then require the US Senate to vote on Articles of War (instead of allowing the President to engage us in war by executive fiat). If they vote to declare war, then they should vote to fund the war. Finally, we the people would vote to decide whether we want to be in this war.

Why, might I ask, is this a "story behind the story" and not a plain old story?

I have heard a number of experts in Middle Eastern culture and politics suggest that the only way to solve this problem is to allow Iraq to divide itself into sectarian regions. That would stop the violence for now and would allow our troops to return. This could occur if the administration would admit that its policy has failed, admit that Iraq is in civil war and then take measures to withdraw troops down to the southern region, which would become the Sunni territory. What do you think the chances of that happening are?

One problem is that there are many "allies" (Israel included) that wanted us in the Iraq war but not to win it. After all, a free democratic and united Iraq would still not vote to be a friend of Tel Aviv.
Civil War suits several nations just fine.

We have not finished a war since 1945. Let's try to finish this one. Iraq is not the enemy, the world wide groups of idiots that use God as their flag and liscience to kill, they are the enemy to the US and the rest of the world. This is a world problem, so then it is a world war. Finish what we started or what they have started world wide.

Am I the only one that noticed the fact that the Shite PM Al Maliki spoke against the U.S. tactics only when they attacked his "Shiite" people? How many Sunni Iraqi bystanders die daily, never heard him speak against the U S tactics than. Thousands of U S soldiers have died, only heard him praise the U S than. My opinion, once we are finally out of there, (which in my opinion) should have been 2 years ago...he will just be another Sadaam, unless someone else takes over. You cannot expect a country that has never had democracy to embrace it within a span of a few years. It will never work. Bush is not god, and those countries over there have been living the seperate sectarian lifestyle since the beginning of time. I wish the U S citizens could vote on whether or not we should stay there, we should have been asked to vote yearly since the start of this war. Let it go Bush, let Iraq do as they want to do. Please bring our troops home. or as I read earlier, let the Iraqi people vote on our staying there. Things are just getting worse & worse. God Bless all of our troops, the contractors & reporters and keep them safe..

I see a blind man leading another blind man.I do not expect them see the light behind the tunnel. I do not for see stable and safe Iraq in the presence of occuping forces.Let the UN take over and stop more bloodshed and that can be done if only BUSH comes to his sences and get the hell out of Iraq while he can.

The chances are nill to non Nancy! Man, why won't a President do what a majority want?....and to think...I voted for him

As long as the oil companies and the war machine manufacturers are continuing to make obscene profits as they steal from hardworking Americans, George Bush and his war-mongering cronies have no incentive to stop the war. The chaos of war is a perfect platform from which to steal.

now would be a good time to pull out no one would miss us.
the other option that we won't do and is the reason we shouldn't get involved in these feel good wars is we need to kill thousands of the Iraqi people and probably Iranians to.

this goes on day after day, all it is , is death to some one,an iraqi, or our troops,what does bush see in winning this war,there is no win in war,we should leave,they want us to leave,my son spent a year in iraq and i volenter for a vets center,we are seeing our troops come home to their famlies, their sick eather physical or mentel proublems and this will all hit home in ways we cannot see,i pray mr bush comes to his sences, but i dont look for it!hes gotta win something thats not winable.

For the first time in the history of this country we invaded another country without direct provocation. In doing so, we splintered and brought to the surface old conflicts that now we find impossible to control. There is no answer for us. We are on the outside looking in, and forever will be. Like in Vietnam, we will eventually pack up and leave, out of futility.

As a vet and with a son on active duty, I am so angry at folks who have a football mentality, "winning is everything, we must win, blah, blah, blah". Our struggle with terrorism is better intel and less bloodshed. After all, didn't the IRA become Sein Finn? How do we keep justifying in our collective minds that 9/11 and Iraq are connected? Our 9/11 Commission proved otherwise!! The latest effort by the Brits to stop a mass airplane slaughter is proof. We are NOT safer, We are never going to WIN anyone's heart and minds by killing them for over 3 years!!! Where is Bin Ladin? All of you VERY patriotic citizens...WHERE IS HE???? It's all crumbling before your conservative eyes and the best we can get is....the next president will have to take care of it...thanks!

As long as we have to pussy foot around liberals and everyone else that thinks we can sit down and have a friendly chat with terrorists, we will never win a thing. They (terrorists) know they are keeping the US divided politicaly and that makes them feel stronger.

Louis,your words ring true. Man I'm afraid that we are seeing the begining of WWIII. Just think a bunch of fanicitical idiots started this, because I don't think their happy unless their killing someone. Even their own if need be.

REFFERING TO JOHN NEW LAND BLOG ON \AUG 10 I ALSO ASK , WILL THE AMERICANS LEAVE IRAQ AS THEY DID IN VIETNAM WITHOUT LOSS >I SAY THAT WILL NOT BE TRUE THE AMERICANS LOST ALL CLAIMS ABOUT BEING THE PIONEER OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFEDER . YOUR HISTORY TILL NOW WROTE NOTHING THAN ,HEROSHIMA AND NAGAZAKI ATOMIC BOMB ,MAY LAY HORRIBLE MASSACRE,DESTROYING IRAQ AND THE EVERLASTING DEADLY SUBJECTION TO ISRAELITE SAVAGE DEMANDS . THIS WILL BE KEPT IN HISTORY AND MORE IN HEARTS .TRY AGAIN

I have read all these comments, I agree with some and disagree with others, but it all comes to this, The Iraqi's have to want to stop the war, they do not tell when they see someone plant a roadside bomb, or know someone who has rockets. either they are too scared or do not want the violence to stop. where are the Mothers who hate to see their children blown up, If the religious leaders tell the children they will be instantly in Pardise, why don't the leaders go out and get blown up? they don't believe it, people in Iraqi Wake! up these people are using you and your children for their personal gain.