Mr. President, Tear Down That Wall!

One perfect example of the disconnect between the White House's fantasy plans and the actual reality inside Iraq is the proposed walling off of certain "restive" Sunni neighborhoods. Last Friday, I linked to a story that a "U.S. military brigade is constructing a 3-mile-long concrete wall" to do just that.

Yes indeed the key to 'victory' in Iraq is slowly turning the whole country into a series of Green Zones and West Banks poorly protected by an indefinite U.S. occupation. Freedom is definitely on the march.

Then yesterday came this news: "Iraq's prime minister said Sunday that he has ordered a halt to the U.S. military construction of a barrier separating a Sunni enclave from surrounding Shiite areas in Baghdad after fierce criticism over the project at home."

Oops.

This was followed up by a NY Times article that implied the wall-building was part of a larger U.S. security plan and that the U.S. had not completely abandoned the idea. The U.S. leaders later tried to assure Iraqis that the move was 'temporary'. Etc.

Considering that even the 'surge' leaders acknowledge that we can't win militarily and that a political solution is necessary, it should be alarming to most people that 4+ years after invading (and 2+ years since the now-forgotten 'purple finger' moment) that the Iraqi government, the U.S. occupiers, and the Iraqi people themselves are on completely different wavelengths.