cybermage's Journal: Pentagon Agrees: al Qaeda Will Not Take Iraq If US Withdraws

Pentagon war games confirm what was reported here two weeks ago: al Qaeda will not take over in Iraq if the U.S. leaves. This is in direct contradiction to Bush's claims to the contrary.

The Washington Post reports on the Pentagon's war gaming of such scenarios.

The Pentagon believes that were the U.S. to leave now, "three developments would be likely to unfold. Majority Shiites would drive Sunnis out of ethnically mixed areas west to Anbar province. Southern Iraq would erupt in civil war between Shiite groups. And the Kurdish north would solidify its borders and invite a U.S. troop presence there. In short, Iraq would effectively become three separate nations."

These developments do not include either al Qaeda or Iran taking over any portion of Iraq as president Bush's scare-mongering has repeatedly suggested.