Iraqi government officials traveled to Iran in late March to seek help in establishing a cease-fire with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Al-Mahdi Army. Iran convinced al-Sadr to order a cease-fire in the city of Basra, which has largely held to today. However, a cease-fire on May 11 for Baghdad's Al-Sadr City failed and fighting continues today, indicating that Iran's influence and al-Sadr's orders are unable to stop the fighting. The Shiite militias are divided into localized groups with their own interests and grievances that must be dealt with before cease-fires will hold. Because government forces are unable to defeat the militias, the interests of these groups must be accommodated and compromises must be made to give them a share of power. The U.S. policy of treating all opposition groups as gangs that must be defeated by Iraqi and U.S. forces is not working. If the U.S. military, which is widely perceived as an occupying army, begins significant withdrawals, the current Iraqi government will gain legitimacy in the eyes of estranged Shiite groups. At the same time, the shrinking support of the U.S. army will weaken the military strength of the government to defeat the outsiders. Both of these factors will encourage the government to give opposition parties a legitimate share of power, thus reducing the fighting. Until a greater sharing of power is established, peace is unlikely. The presence of the U.S. military only encourages the Shiite militias to continue the fighting.

Pvt. Corey L. Hicks, 22, of Glendale, Ariz., was killed Friday May 2, 2008 in Baghdad by a roadside bomb, the Defense Department has announced. His death was the latest of at least 4,071 who have died since the war began in March 2003. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/casualties Private Hicks sacrificed half a century of his potential life on earth to help win the war in Iraq. We should all recognize his sacrifice and commemorate his service to the U.S., just as all the other dead should be recognized and commemorated. We salute you Pvt. Hicks.

Photo by David Leeson 2003 © (Copyrighted) 1. Why is the U.S. in Iraq? We are not in Iraq to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction (there are none) or to fight terrorism (al-Qaeda is located primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan). We are in Iraq because President Bush wanted to demonstrate U.S. military power and to establish a pro-American government to protect our interests in the region. 2. Can the U.S. achieve victory? That depends on how victory is defined. If we define victory as toppling Saddam Hussein's authoritarian regime and showing that Iraq does not have weapons of mass destruction, we can declare victory now. If we define victory as establishing a stable democratic government that can stop the horrific level of violence, we have had little or no success and will probably never succeed. 3. How many casualties is the U.S. willing to accept? That depends on how long we pursue a victory that is unlikely to be successful. The longer we fruitlessly pursue our current objectives, the less acceptable will be our casualties. If we recognize that Bush's war has not reduced the threat of terrorism and has not been successful in establishing a democratic government, then it is morally unacceptable to allow American deaths to climb above the more than 4,000 men and women who have already died. 4. Can U.S. troops leave safely? It is unlikely that U.S. casualties will increase during a reasonable period of withdrawal. It is more likely that casualties will be reduced as we move our troops out of harm's way. 5. Will civil war break out after the U.S. has withdrawn? Civil war already exists between Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims, between Shiite militias and Iraqi forces, and among the various Shiite militias themselves. It is only made worse by our presence, which is perceived as an occupation by all groups. 6. Will Iraq become a safe haven for al-Qaeda? Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group run by Sunnis. The Shiite majority in Iraq is unlikely to tolerate their presence after the U.S. leaves. Iraq would not be as safe a haven for al-Qaeda as their present camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 7. Will the Shiite majority commit genocide against the Sunnis? Shiites are already killing Sunnis now that the Shiites are in power, just as Sunnis killed Shiites when Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq. It is unclear whether ethnic cleansing will increase or decrease after we leave, but our presence has not been successful in reducing that violence. 8. Can our strategic interests in the Middle East be protected if we leave Iraq? Our supply of oil has decreased and its cost has increased because of our presence in Iraq. The situation is unlikely to worsen due to our departure. It is also widely acknowledged that we need to become much less dependent on oil whether we stay in Iraq or leave. As for our interest in protecting ourselves from terrorism, that fight can be carried out more effectively in Afghanistan where the most extreme anti-American terrorists are located. 9. Can we leave Iraq now with honor? Admitting our mistake and withdrawing from Iraq is more honorable than continuing the war with the attendant unconscionable loss of thousands of more lives. Just as people can, countries can gain respect by honestly admitting their mistakes and correcting their course of action. We should do the right thing instead of trying to save face by pressing on.

My server where I hosted my webpages recently crashed. Fortunately I saved the data, but decided to use the Case Blog platform instead of rebuilding the server and the content management system I used...too much work right now! As the home page, I will use the categories link in my blog that will have a Homeand Teaching sections for now. Currently, I am a Ph.D. Candidate at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. Broadly speaking, my research interests focus on how information technologies impact individuals, groups, and organizations. Yes, this quite a broad undertaking ;). In studying IT impact at the orgnizational and group level, my dissertation topic focuses on the differences between 2D and 3D CAD/CAM in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. At the individual level I am collaborating with several professors and students in studying how financial accounting data can be animated to aid in business decision making. During this semester I will hopefully reconstruct the information from my old website here!