Human Rights: I spent a while reading Migeru's post and following the links provided. I confess I will probably need some sort of transatlantic encyclopedia to figure out what exactly is meant by "a true concern for Human Rights", In the context of the counterexample provided. Once I figure that out, it will allow me to ask the question, what, if anything, does Mirgeru's "true concern for Human Rights" have in common with the Iraqi Arab, Iraqi Shiite, or Iraqi Kurd conception of human rights? And, can "true" human rights be pursued in a vacuum, without addressing the question of democratic government, rule of law, and economic freedom?

Judo - use the opponent's momentum for your own goals: While civil war will always be a danger in Iraq, Migeru seems to think the momentum is currently towards civil war. This was arguably true before 2007, but things have changed since then. By any fair comparison of this year to last year, or even this month to last month, Iraq's momentum is away from civil war, not towards it.

There is of course debate over the causes of this -- some say it is because the coalition tactics are suceeding while al-Quaeda in Iraq and the Madi army tactics are alienating the people; others say it is because ethnic cleansing has run its course. In order to apply the principles of Judo, the causes of an opponents motion are of course relevant, but the first thing is to correctly judge the direction of the opponent's momentum.

The failure to understand fundamental current conditions in Iraq suggests that Migeru's application of Judo will be similarly flawed.

"...it is indeed possible that I am out of date..."

Finally some talk about things that are real.

Hasn't that just been the problem all along? Europe's tendency to endless debate, and utopian need for consensus, is hopeless in a situation as volatile as Iraq. By the time the precious consensus is formed and articulated, the opponents (al-Q, Mahdi, mafias, Iran, etc.) have had ample time to see it coming and is prepared to exploit its weak points. It seems they understand Judo better than you-do (heh).

The opponents' position, generally speaking, is that there is no such thing as true human rights, outside of Islam. In other words, a very different conception of human rights than the traditional, Enlightenment approach, very different even than whatever progressive/collectivist notion of group rights that you may believe in. You seem to have ducked this question completely: what does your idea of human rights and theirs have in common?

Instead, you seem to have embraced the assumptions of the Bush doctrine that human rights are in some sense universal. Your complaint seems to be that we are not sincere. Well we are, but based on the quality of your insight so far, I don't expect to be able to convince you of that.

So, consider this: surely we can agree that the UN's Sergio de Mello had an agenda of true human rights? Yet he was slaughtered, and among the reasons given was this: he had "forced" Muslims to give away Muslim land in East Timor, and he had come to Iraq to do the same. In other words, he was thought to have an ulterior motive.

You yourself write "It may be unrealistic to think of the EU as postcolonialist". How will you convince the relevant parties that you are not part of the international, neo-colonial Zionist conspiracy that controls the weather and caused the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (conveniently timed near Christmas)? You yourself don't seem entirely convinced that you are not!

The Surge is working, so far, in part because we have made progress doing just that. We have embarrassed and discredited al-Q to the point where Iraqis can now openly acknowledge what they had already learned through painful experience: that al-Q wants nothing for Iraq but to soak it in blood (Iraqi blood, preferably), and will bring nothing but misery and lies (and marketplaces in which the vegetables are segregated by sex -- seriously!). The current, sovereign Iraqi government is now showing the Mahdi army et. al. to be weak, which permits the Iraqi street to acknowledge what they've known all along: the Mahdi army is an Iranian front, with a hidden agenda.

Iraqis have also noticed that the people responsible for Abu Ghraib have been punished, which never happens in middle eastern dictatorships, and that conditions in today's Abu Ghraib, which is entirely under Iraqi management, are much worse than when we ran the place. We are convincing the Iraqis that we do have an agenda, but we aren't trying to hide it. al-Q wants to steal their faith; Iran wants to steal their oil. We want their oil too, but we are willing to pay for it. In other words, they are starting to understand that we have a flawed but real (as opposed to utopian) concern for human rights.

You completely duck the question, how can human rights be pursued in a vacuum, i.e. without the rest of the Bush democracy agenda? Even if you don't trust the sincerity of the Bush agenda, the question is still relevant.

Finally, it seems your concern for "true" human rights seems to boil down to a kinder, gentler ethnic cleansing. Didn't UN peacekeepers already try this in Srebrenica? Do you think that won't be brought up and exploited in Iraq?

I agree, Iranians have tried to gain control and influence with all the major Iraqi Shiite factions, not just the Mahdi militia, and, as far as anyone can tell, have been more successful with the Badr Corps than with the Mahdi Army. That is why I used the inelegant phrase "which permits the Iraqi street to acknowledge what they've known all along: the Mahdi army is an Iranian front, with a hidden agenda" instead of a more straightforward phrasing.

But at least the Badr movement is working as part of the elected government, instead of a self-appointed militia. That is major progress.

The goal of "the resistance", including but not limited to al-Q, was to make Iraq ungovernable. They are failing, and true human rights will benefit immeasurably because of it. I dare say it is in Europe's best interest for other reasons, as well.

Part of what I was trying to suggest is that the Iraqis themselves know all about hidden agendas. Migeru's poorly conceived, naive Euro-Judo makes Bush's surge strategy (which really, belongs to Petraeus, Kagan, and McCain) look like Sun Tzu's Art of War by comparison.

Indeed, the danger that Iraq's government already is, or will become, an Iranian client, is real. The only solution I can see for this to push as much as possible for regular elections, so that the Iraqi shiites (and the other Iraqis) can judge for themselves whether their leadership has gotten too close to Iran....or too close to the US, for that matter. They are by far in the best position to judge. And of course we need to have at least minimal rule of law, to limit the amount of corruption in elections, and to avoid electing a dictatorship (one election one time, etc).

I just hope the Iraqi government will be able to govern Basra and Sadr City better than the militias it displaced.