That uppity little Johnnie Burns

One of the biggest complaints about the Iraqi parliament is its lack of progress forging political solutions.  Hmm, here’s a thought:

There’s a paradox. That’s to say the more that the Democrats in the Congress lead the push for an early withdrawal, the more Iraqi political leaders, particularly the Shiite political leaders, but the Sunnis as well, and the Kurds, are inclined to think that this is going to be settled, eventually, in an outright civil war, in consequence of which they are very, very unlikely or reluctant, at present, to make major concessions. They’re much more inclined to kind of hunker down. So in effect, the threats from Washington about a withdrawal, which we might have hoped would have brought about greater political cooperation in face of the threat that would ensue from that to the entire political establishment here, has had, as best we can gauge it, much more the opposite effect, of an effect that persuading people well, if the Americans are going, there’s absolutely no…and we’re going to have to settle this by a civil war, why should we make concessions on that matter right now?

Boiling things down a little more I guess that, like here in the US, liberals typically have higher expectations of central government than conservatives.

p.s. Strange how a major media company’s universal take on a troubled country can differ so markedly from said organization’s. .  .actual reporter on the ground in that country.