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Los Angeles Times | Editorial
Sunday 06 May 2007
Iraqis need political reconciliation, not occupation; and US troops shouldn't referee a civil war.
Whatever the future holds, the United States has not "lost" and cannot "lose" Iraq. It was never ours in the first
place. And however history will judge the war, some key U.S. goals have been accomplished: Saddam Hussein has been
ousted, tried and executed; Iraqis have held three elections, adopted a constitution and established a rudimentary
democracy.
But what now? After four years of war, more than $350 billion spent and 3,363 U.S. soldiers killed and 24,310 wounded,
it seems increasingly obvious that an Iraqi political settlement cannot be achieved in the shadow of an indefinite
foreign occupation. The U.S. military presence - opposed by more than three-quarters of Iraqis - inflames terrorism and
delays what should be the primary and most pressing goal: meaningful reconciliation among the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
This newspaper reluctantly endorsed the U.S. troop surge as the last, best hope for stabilizing conditions so that the
elected Iraqi government could assume full responsibility for its affairs. But we also warned that the troops should not
be used to referee a civil war. That, regrettably, is what has happened.
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