http://www.washtimes.com/world/20061...0324-9846r.htm
'Dramatic change of direction' coming for Iraq
By Sharon Behn
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 19, 2006
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The escalating violence raking Baghdad and other Iraqi cities is pushing that nation's leaders, neighboring Arab countries and U.S. advisers to consider a dramatic change of direction in the conduct of the war.
Leaks from a U.S. task force headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III are contributing to the widespread sense that the Bush administration is preparing for a "course correction" in the coming months.
The options cited most frequently in Washington include the partition of Iraq into three ethnic- or faith-based regions, and a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops, with some remaining in neighboring countries to deal with major threats.
Another scenario is being discussed -- and taken seriously in Iraq -- by many of Iraq's leading political players, under which the U.S.-trained army would overthrow struggling Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and replace him with a strongman who would restore order while Washington looks the other way.
Thought this article was interesting not for its "behind the scenes" angle but for the fact that it contains the government's first mention in quite some time (albeit only quasi-publicly) about splitting Iraq in three.
How about the COA given by the good old nameless "political players" regarding a wholesale regime change?? I think we all know that won't happen, but it's remarkable that such a suggestion even made it to print.
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