U.S. must step up effort to rebuild Iraq after mosque bombing

The News Tribune

Faced with daily attacks on American soldiers in Iraq, here's one more thing the United States doesn't need: an outbreak of sectarian violence between the Shiite Muslim majority and the Sunni minority.

A massive bomb blast Friday at the Imam Ali mosque in the city of Najaf killed at least 75 people, including Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, a highly respected Shiite cleric. The identities of those who planned and carried out the atrocity aren't known - and it really doesn't matter at this point. The damage has been done. Many outraged Shiites are already blaming the bombing on Sunnis, their longtime rivals who viciously oppressed them when Saddam Hussein was in power.

The bombing underscores the need for the United States to step up the pace of its campaign to politically and economically rebuild Iraq. Terrorists operate effectively in a political vacuum, when civilians either support their goals or are indifferent to their murderous acts.

More

We are stuck with this. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has badly miscalculated what a war with Iraq will require. You and I get to pay for this with our tax dollars. Other Americans have paid for this with this lives. Unfortunately, there's no turning back. We are in it for the long hall.