US President George W. Bush said on Friday Iraq is facing a new "defining moment" in Basra, and I agree with him. Iraq is facing a defining moment that will decide the future of the country.
If the separatist Shiites (SIIC and Dawa), backed by the US, won the elections in the south, they'll create a "Shiastan" that looks like the current unannounced independent state called "Kurdistant" in the north. If the nationalist Shittes (Sadr and Al-Fadhila) won the elections, they'll keep Iraq one united country with a strong central government. The Separatist Shiites in the Executive branch know that they will loose the elections, and that's why they sent 50,000 troops backed by the US and Britain to kill their political rivals.
A couple of days ago, Maliki gave Al-Basra's residents a 72 hour ultimatum to surrender. Let's watch and see who will win the military battle: the separatist Shiite militias (aka "Iraqi Army") backed by the occupiers, or the nationalist militias backed by the local Iraqi population.
UPDATE: Al-Maliki changed his mind now, instead of defeating the "extremist" and "outlaws" in 72 hours, he wants to "buy their guns". hehe! I'm not making it up, check this out. "A spokesman for the government's Interior Ministry, Abdul Kareem Khalaf, acknowledged today that not a single weapon had been turned in since Maliki ordered the disarmament Wednesday and gave fighters a three-day deadline", so now Al-Maliki "sweetened the deal by offering money in exchange for guns".
What about this as a sweeter deal: Maliki and your militias: go back to Iran, Bush and your militias: go back to the US. Now this sounds like a deal :)
