1400 YEARS AND COUNTING

by Jack Reeves

It is almost two years since Iraq's national election. Still, unified government has not resulted because the country is divided by the theology of its Sunni and Shiite populations. Such since the Prophet Muhammed's death almost 1400 years ago.

Meanwhile, conflict and contention increase; US armed forces will be gone in a month.

That the United States invaded Iraq is tragic. Avowed reasons were to protect the US and enable democracy.

Even if containing an element of honesty, the action was uninformed. Democracy is not creatable overnight. In particular, 1400 years of animosity cannot be soon ended.

This reality was not respected in 2003. Instead, invasion was much motivated by economic and ideological interests.

The results--besides death and destruction--still affect us, contributing to our national debt and significantly causative of our extreme political division and dysfunction government.

Fourteen hundred years of same behavior is predictive. Honesty respects this.

"Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (George Santayana) is verifiable.

And, unfortunately, yesterday, today and tomorrow too often explained.