Sistani calls for end to violence...

...but not for a US exit NOW! Why not? Why does this Muslim Iraqi cleric not direct his criticism at US troops and that cursed George Bush? Why does he not blame Bush and the US military for all the problems? Why does he ask for the waring factions to stop tyring to kill and exact revenge, as a pre-requisite for the US leaving? Please explain this to me, Tom and Nadir. Why does he blame non-US forces for that Shiite mosque bombing?

Sixstringer pointed out the other day that if Hezbollah and Hamas threw all of their weapons into the ocean and stopped all acts of violence, all Isrealis would cease their violence as well, and the borders of Isreal would not budge a single inch. In contrast, if the Isrealis tossed all their weapons into the ocean, the Hezbollah and Hamas forces with launch Total War, and Isreal would evaporate in a sea of destruction and blood.

In Iraq, if the US troops left NOW!, would violence end? Would people there have freedom to speak and practice religion any way that they liked? No. But what if all the non-US forces stopped their violence and destruction. Would the US military continue firing any weapons?