Inside it is the following quote:
What outsiders tend to miss as they focus on the old rivalries among Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds is that sectarianism is giving way to other priorities. "The word 'compromise' in Arabic—mosawama—is a dirty word," says Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, who served for many years as Iraq's national--security adviser and is running for Parliament. "You don't compromise on your concept, your ideology, your religion—or if you do," he flicked his hand dismissively, "then you're a traitor." Rubaie leans in close to make his point. "But we learned this trick of compromise. So the Kurds are with the Shia on one piece of legislation. The Shia are with the Sunnis on another piece of legislation, and the Sunnis are with the Kurds on still another."
On Ken Burns PBS documentary on the American Civil War, I remember historian Shelby Foote saying that while American's like to think of themselves has being an uncompromising people, the reality is that Americans have a genius for compromise. The Civil War was many times postponed by series of political comppromises like the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850.
We had our civil war because we finally found a thing for which there could be no compromise - slavery.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other." Abraham Lincoln. 1858.
The Iraqi's have now had a taste of the miracle of mosawama. They may not like it, but its apparent they like what it does: allowing peace to reign where it can reign. May God bless it and continue it in their hands.
The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor. Ronald Reagan.
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