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The Civil War That Wasn’t…….

The US hasn’t the only media that can be accused of hyping up the threat of civil war breaking out in Iraq, the Finnish media was caught up in the the frenzy as well. I came across this piece published in the New York Post yesterday (5.3.2006) by Ralph Peters. Now, this is a reporter not sitting in the confines of his hotel room somewhere inside the ‘Green Line’ he’s doing the rounds of Baghdad with the “instant Infantry” gunners of the 1st Platoon of Bravo Battery, 4-320 Field Artillery. His reporting reflects an Iraq that is not hostile to the US, and not reading itself for an increase in sectarian violence (a.k.a civil war). His article is at least worth the read and consideration. KGS

DUDE, WHERE’S MY CIVIL WAR?
March 5, 2006 — BAGHDAD
“I’M trying. I’ve been trying all week. The other day, I drove another 30 miles or so on the streets and alleys of Baghdad. I’m looking for the civil war that The New York Times declared. And I just can’t find it. Maybe actually being on the ground in Iraq prevents me from seeing it. Perhaps the view’s clearer from Manhattan. It could be that my background as an intelligence officer didn’t give me the right skills.


And riding around with the U.S. Army, looking at things first-hand, is certainly a technique to which The New York Times wouldn’t stoop in such an hour of crisis.
Let me tell you what I saw anyway. Rolling with the “instant Infantry” gunners of the 1st Platoon of Bravo Battery, 4-320 Field Artillery, I saw children and teenagers in a Shia slum jumping up and down and cheering our troops as they drove by. Cheering our troops. All day – and it was a long day – we drove through Shia and Sunni neighborhoods. Everywhere, the reception was warm. No violence. None. And no hostility toward our troops. Iraqis went out of their way to tell us we were welcome.” More

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