Shoulda listened to this guy

Posted By Blake Hounshell Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 9:55 PM Share

As we watch official Washington distance itself from Nuri al-Maliki, we would do well to take another look at these prescient words from Pat Lang, who was never fooled by the Iraqi prime minister:

Finding ourselves in the wrong Iraq, Americans have stubbornly insisted that the real Iraqis should behave as our dream Iraqis would surely do. The result has been frustration, disappointment, and finally rage against the "craziness" of the Iraqis. We are still acting out our dream, insisting that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s Shiite sectarian government "unify" the state, imagining that Maliki is a sort of Iraqi George Washington seeking the greater good for all. He is not that. His chief task is to consolidate Shiite Arab power while using the United States to accomplish the deed. To that end, he will tell us whatever we want to be told. He will sacrifice however many of his brethren are necessary to maintain the illusion, so long as the loss is not crippling to his effort. He will treat us as the naifs that we are.

EXPLORE:MIDDLE EAST, BUSH ADMINISTRATION, IRAQ

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