Centerfield

And the wanton and meaningless destruction of Holy Places, no matter whose, is a crime against humanity. Maybe not of the same order as the horrors of tyranny, but a crime against us all nonetheless.

We've seen this before. It was ugly then, and it's ugly now.

I agree. While most are disheartened over this there are many who are crying "civil war" despite the non-violent protests (for the most part) and the promise of rebuilding the shrine. As far as civil war, it seems there is more of a perverse desire for bloodlust and "i told you so" than actual solutions.

On a different tangent, I found this on the DLC website. Now if the Dems used this and made it their foundation, we could be looking at a Democratic Congress in November:
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=450004&subid=900020&contentid=253152

I was fascinated by what an NPR correspondant was saying, that the destruction if this structure might have broader implications for Shiite-Suni relations beyond Iraq, as a consequence of an expanding Sunni movement that sees shiites as not merely wrongheaded Islamicists, but as outright infidels.

There's an excellent e-mail from an Iraqi to the guys at Powerline describing the local reaction which is not being largely reported in the American media. While there are some anti-Sunni and anti-Shiite protests going on (Al Sadr remains a problem), most leaders on both sides are actively and strongly calling for national unity as Iraqis. Local Shiites are forming protection committees to make sure no retaliation is carried out against Suni Mosques in Basra and the south.

I've had faith in the strength of the Iraqi people since the beginning of this war. If they continue to hold it together after a deliberately inflammatory incident like this, I think my faith will be proven justified.

Pat, I continue to hope as you do, and I'd love to believe that the majority of Iraqis is responding to this in a way that acknowledges that this desecration was done by people with ulterior motives, who care nothing for Iraqis nor for either Sunnis or Shi'ites. In other words, by Al-queda or by AQ-inspired insurgents seeking only to foment violence and destablize Iraq.

I sure hope and pray that Iraqis understand that they can look to a better future if they set aside sectarian differences and establish a civil Iraqi society based on democracy. But the violence in the aftermath of this desecration concerns me deeply. I know that the potential for the explosive growth of sectarian violence is there, and that if it spreads, we might be looking at "game over."

If we have to intervene in many such conflicts, we'll come to be portrayed as taking sides, and quickly reach a point where we'll have little choice but to step aside. I pray that doesn't happen. I pray that Iraq is close to being ready to fully take the reins of its security, so that we can step back. The clock is ticking, and we're bound to reach a point where a majority of Iraqis begins to feel that we need to step back and start leaving.

Brian, from what I can tell, we're staying entirely out of this one. I suspect we are very, very quietly funneling money for the rebuilding (the Iraqi government has formally provided funds, but I think they're still pretty broke except for us), but other than that, we are, quite wisely, letting the Iraqis take care of this themselves.

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