While Sen. John McCain and members of the Bush administration express cautious optimism about the success of the troop “surge,” the future of Iraq might be taking shape inside its Shiite mosques.
It raises the question of just what “success” will mean.
If it is an Islamic theocracy it would hardly resemble the federalized constitutional democracy envisioned by President Bush. Would it even be allied with the U.S. — or with Iran?
Upon assuming command of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus said military power was not enough. “There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency of Iraq,” he said. “Military action is necessary “? but it is not sufficient. There needs to be a political aspect.”
Calling political negotiations “critical,” Petraeus said they “will determine in the long run the success of this effort.”
But while U.S. troops carry the brunt of the fight against what is principally a Sunni insurgency, behind the scenes Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani — Iraq’s most influential religious leader — might be winning the political fight.