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Old 10-23-2007, 21:39 PM   #21 (permalink)
astralis
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Join Date: 08-23-05
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S-2,

if the first report continues to hold, we can separate the mahdi army from the populace; then we can begin taking it down as a military organization.

to be honest, i think what these successes in the long-term means is that we may see the organization of iraq into three nominally-affiliated separate states.

however, as long as they're not openly warring with each other, are relatively AQ-free, and have reduced iranian influence, that's good enough given the absolutely desperate situation of a few months earlier, when it looked like the sunni section was going to hell, and the mahdi army had a firm grip on the shi'a.
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