Juan Cole compiles a list of the top 10 myths about Iraq, which goes as follows:
1. The U.S. can still win in Iraq.
2. US military sweeps of neighborhoods can drive the guerrillas out.
3. The United States is best off throwing all its support behind the Iraqi Shiites.
4. Iraq is not in a civil war
5. The second Lancet study showing 600,000 excess deaths from political and criminal violence since the US invasion is somehow flawed.
6. Most deaths in Iraq are from bombings.
7. Baghdad and environs are especially violent but the death rate is lower in the rest of the country.
8. Iraq is the central front in the war on terror.
9. The Sunni Arab guerrillas in places like Ramadi will follow the US home to the American mainland and commit terrorism if we leave Iraq.
10. Setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq is a bad idea.
I couldn’t agree more…
For more details, check out the full blog by Juan Cole: Top Ten Myths about Iraq 2006