Top 10 Iraq Myths of 2007

From Juan Cole:

10. Myth: The US public no longer sees Iraq as a central issue in the 2008 presidential campaign.

9. Myth: There have been steps toward religious and political reconciliation in Iraq in 2007.

8. Myth: The US troop surge stopped the civil war that had been raging between Sunni Arabs and Shiites in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

7. Myth: Iran was supplying explosively formed projectiles (a deadly form of roadside bomb) to Salafi Jihadi (radical Sunni) guerrilla groups in Iraq.

6. Myth: The US overthrow of the Baath regime and military occupation of Iraq has helped liberate Iraqi women.

5. Myth: Some progress has been made by the Iraqi government in meeting the “benchmarks” worked out with the Bush administration.

4. Myth: The Sunni Arab “Awakening Councils,” who are on the US payroll, are reconciling with the Shiite government of PM Nuri al-Maliki even as they take on al-Qaeda remnants.

3. Myth: The Iraqi north is relatively quiet and a site of economic growth.

2. Myth: Iraq has been “calm” in fall of 2007 and the Iraqi public, despite some grumbling, is not eager for the US to depart.

1. Myth: The reduction in violence in Iraq is mostly because of the escalation in the number of US troops, or “surge.”

For the facts, head on over to Cole.