In Balad, Iraq hospital employees unload body bags of the victims of sectarian violence. Over 100 people were killed in sectarian violence last week, most at the hands of Shi'ite death squads. Most of the bodies told a tale of inhuman torture.As the violence spirals upward and out of control, the administration is reaching out to insurgents, and amnesty is on the table. Amnesty is not a new notion, after all. It has been kicked around for over two years, and in June Iraqi leader Nouri al Maliki set jaws a wagging when he brought it up again.
But now, it isn't just an idea no one is taking seriously. Talks took place over the weekend in Amman Jordan between American officials and leaders of the Iraqi (Sunni) insurgency. This signals a sea-change in policy. Essentially, the administration is acknowleging that the two-month clampdown on violence in Baghdad has failed.
The United States is learning a lesson Napoleon learned in Russia 200 years ago - it is easier going in than it is getting out.
Meantime, the death toll of U.S. personnel in Iraq stands at 91 for the month of October, with a week remaining in the month and two weeks from today we go to the polls.
Iraq is foremost in the mind of most voters. We realize that "victory" is not a strategy. We realize that sixteen intel agencies can't be unanimouosly wrong. Most us us realize that the invasion of Iraq was the stupidest bit of foreign policy employed in the history of this country. We realize what is being done to our Constitution and want it restored. We realize that this president has brought America to the edge of a cliff and the only hope for our nation to turn away from this path of certain destruction is to vote for a congress that will counter him and his imperial aspirations.
There is too much at stake to trust this president to act responsibly and in the best interest of this country and the world. He has not thus far.
