And to think we are concerned and bothered by the US tactics, I can only imagine what the Shiites want to do when they speak of getting tough. If the distubring photos of tortured Iraqis is any indication of what we could expect with this aggressive fight, Iraq is getting even closer than before to civil war. All in the name of freedom and democracy, GOP style.
During much of the interview, Hakim was critical of U.S. policies toward Iraq, though he acknowledged that U.S. forces must remain in the country as a "guest" of the Iraqi government while it builds its security forces. The Americans are guilty of "major interference, and preventing the forces of the Interior or Defense ministries from carrying out tasks they are capable of doing, and also in the way they are dealing with the terrorists," Hakim charged.
Hakim gave few details of what getting tough would entail, other than making clear it would require more weapons, with more firepower, than the United States is currently supplying.
His repeated assertion that the United States was being too weak against Iraq's insurgency, allowing attacks to mushroom, appeared to suggest that any future Iraqi government that included him would share his view.
