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In reply to the discussion: Chuck Hagel to McCain: Surge This [View all]bigtree
(85,996 posts)Last edited Thu Jan 31, 2013, 03:26 PM - Edit history (1)
. . . how al Sadr was in Iran at the time. I've always attributed that ceasefire to something Iran negotiated; not something along the line of what the Pentagon and intelligence claimed (that Iran was engineering attacks), but that Iran had begun to forge the ties that eventually developed into the security and economic agreements they employ today. I've always seen Iran as a more moderating influence in Iraq for the Malaki regime than we've been told; despite their warring past.
It should also be remembered that it was Sadr and his followers who joined with Shiite leader Sistani and enabled the new regime, headed by Shiite and Sadr ally, Maliki, to assume power.
I think your second point is right on. Hagel's narrative indicates that he understands the counterproductive and limited effect of military force when trying to effect political aims. The hope is that he and the CiC are going to apply that logic and understanding to the present aggression in Afghanistan.