Many Beliefs About Reconciliation Shared
Wednesday, December 19, 2007; Page A14
Virtually all Iraqis share a number of beliefs about political reconciliation, the U.S. military concluded after conducting focus groups in Iraq last month. Among those beliefs:
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¿ Until the March 2003 "U.S. occupation," Sunnis and Shiites coexisted peacefully.
¿ The discord of the past five years has been brought on entirely by entities outside of Iraq -- the United States and neighboring countries -- and not by Iraqis themselves.
¿ Insurgent groups operating inside Iraq are creating chaos to further their own political or religious agendas (many are thought to be controlled by neighboring countries -- predominately Iran, Syria and Turkey) and must be stopped.
¿ Before national reconciliation can occur, all displaced war refugees must return home and be compensated for the loss of their homes or other property.
¿ War criminals, terrorists, those who supported terrorists and those who killed "fellow Muslims" since 2003 must be brought to justice.
¿ Dividing Iraq into three states would hinder national reconciliation. (Only the Kurds did not reject this option.)
¿ After the United States leaves Iraq, national reconciliation will happen "naturally."
¿ A future unity government in Iraq would be nonsectarian, secular, based strictly on the rule of law and accountable to all Iraqis. Few Iraqis use the word "democracy."