Victory in Iraq

A nuclear attack on middle east from either US or Israel canoot be ruled out at all - it appears to be very central to Islamic life. As all muslims prey 5 times a day for death in jihad and seat in heaven ; this is the most practical way for a benevoilent kafir to delivery a heavenly martyrdom in jihad to all muslims on equal footing.... so that the Allah's stock of 72 goats/ martyr can be shared equally. A plebiscite or a coin toss will prove helpful to select an early / auspicious day.

Sounds far fetched ? Just consider the peculiar case of 1 million deaths in the Iran Iraq war- this was no Jihad with Kafir and hence all those dead went to hell for no fault of theirs except that they had Saddam as "boss" - in the post Enron Post Lehman world we all agree that this is very unfortunate & avoidable!

Africa's Secret: GABON 30 August election tragically under threat. After embezzling dictator of 41 yrs Bongo dies, ruling party tries to force dynastic successor, his son Ali. http://tiny.cc/01Ddg. Candidate www.Moubamba.com calls for democracy and end to brutal poverty in oil rich Gabon. Support change in Africa

Gabon 30 August election under threat. After embezzling dictator of 41 yrs Bongo dies, ruling party tries to force dynastic successor, his son Ali. http://tiny.cc/01Ddg. Candidate Moubamba calls for democracy and end to brutal poverty in oil rich Gabon. Support change in Africa

No one will dispute the temporal association of the "surge" and the decline of violence in Iraq. To declare a causal relationship is much less obvious than usually stated, the monocausal improvement-due-to- the- "surge"- and- st. Pertraeus which dominates the american press (not Mr Zacharias article) is downriht silly. As you mentioned in your article: At least 2 (or maybe 3?) million people have left the country, many more are displaced inside Iraq; and those displaced do not return to their homes. The most likely interpration of those dismal facts (or at least an acknowledgment of the temporal association)would be that they are a consequence of factual segregation. And once ethnic segregation has occurred ethnic cleansing will obviously decline due to lack of substrate (to put it cynically). From this perspective it is not suprising at all that massacres now seem to happen especially in those regions where the struggle for power along ethnic lines is not decided as yet.
A thoughtful comment on Iraq should put more significance on the displaced and the actual ethnic situation. A more realistic assessment would be helpful. Admittedly the perspectives become much less attractive: At best we may look forward to something like Bosnia Herzegowina: An organism which does function somehow but not without life support for a very long time to come.

you are absolutely right. You have just described the foundation of the KARL ROVE/BUSH DOCTRINE. THEY USED 9\11 as an excuse to lead us into the greatest catastrophe of this century so FAR. IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. LOOK AT THE MESS WE HAVE MADE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THOSE PEOPLE HATE US and we have killed Hundreds of thousands. WORST OF ALL WE SENT OUR YOUNG TO DIE FOR WHAT SO IRAQ CAN HAVE A CORRUPT REGIME UNDER THE NAME OF DEMOCRACY. LOOK AT AFGHANISTAN. THe GOVERNMENT THERE IS SO CORRUPT and so inefficient that we are now in a greater mess than we were before. IT IS JUST ALL WRONG. YOUNG AMERICANS ARE DYING SO HALLIBURTON COULD PROSPER AND MAKE BILLIONS. CHENEY ROVE RUMSFIELD; THESE GUYS ARE SO EVIL AND SO TWISTED; USING BIBLE QUOTES in the name of war. THE CLOSEST THING TO NAZI'S a NAzi regime we have ever seen.

"How we got here is for the historians?" No it is not. We Americans must figure how (and who) we got into Iraq. Some of these idiots want to get us "in" to Iran.

The most racist and arrogant article I have ever read. Please move to the UK. So we do not have to look at your yellow rotting teeth.

Mr.. Zakaria, please go tell this tell this to the parents of the young Americans who were sent halfway around the world to die.

There is no victory in Iraq. This is Mr. Zakaria's attempt at self-justification for promoting the invasion of the country in the first place. I suggest that he spend more time in the devastated land that can barely be called a country.

I think your contrast with the British empire is misplaced. The original basis for the British empire was military defense for free trade, most initial incursions were to protect trade routes. There was only a scramble for land towards the end of the 19th century when Germany and the other European powers competed to grab land. There were also 'justifying' motives in Britain that were just as strong as those in the USA today: the spread of Christianity, economic development, political structures. When you hear American pundits and presidential candidates talking about the greatness of USA today, it is a reflection of their economic power, but this can be achieved by protecting the interests of American companies without establishing colonial outreaches as GB required to do in the 19th century. When the US leave Iraq, they will leave democracy and free trade as their legacy, but that is as much a colonial adventure as GB did. Also these so called colonial songs were completely non existent.

I believe, that the Shia Sunni divide has less to do with belief, and more to do with apprehension. The grandson of Prophet Mohammad was no doubt a notable figure, but where was his opponent any different in terms of being a human being? The grandson of the Prophet would be unhappy, if he would see the Muslim world not united. I am sure that he would be happy, if all Muslims were united, and living in harmony. If true democracy is to come to Iraq, then Shia and Sunni, must be indifferent to antagonism to one another. It is highly unusual when a Muslim sees himself as a Shia and a Sunni. The human being uses the mind to pray to God. Is this a crime, when a human being uses the word 'God', to pray to God? The more one loves God, in the absolute term, the better it is. Why cannot there be the regard of Islam in a democratic state, so that the Muslim does not feel discriminated against?

No matter wat, there still will be a significant US prsence in Iraq. There could be a potential conflict over Kirkuk, oil revenue, but IF they can negotiate a fair deal, all the better. Can it happen? I don't know. Will some violence continue? YES. Until Iraqi security forces are fully prepared, bombs will go off, and US forces will have to help hunt these people down.

For all my misgivings against Bush and Cheney, I don't think they intend for the worse to happen. They are just too naive and simplistic in their assessment of the implications of marching into Iraq. They also made a grave mistake in looking at the Iraq only from the prism of American eyes rather than from the MIddle-East regional perspective. This is the heart of the problem of American foreign policy, it is too narrowly defined in America's short term interests and in the process, they missed the fact that stable, strong democracies that may not be friendly to America are really more advantageous to America's interests than autocratic, despotic, pro-American governments. American policy is mostly focused on dealing with rulers than recognizing the concerns and interests of peoples in foreign nations. This has cost America dearly in terms of its influence on the world for the past decades. Hopefully, Obama's administration will be wiser in dealing with the world.

Wow! I almost thought I picked up the wrong magazine!! This can't be Newsweek! These areticles actually sound PRO - America. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. Stepehn Colbert did a wonderful job as guest editor. I actually bought a copy of Newsweek for once in my life. And you actually got some of your facts straight! There IS hope, I guess. I'm sorry if some of your snobbish elitist readers think the edition was droll and "sophomoric". But they should learn to laugh a little. It is refreshing that Colbert polkes most of the jokes at himself and not others. I'll be the one to replace the subscription you lose when jek47's expires. Thanks again.

Your "Colbert" edition is silly and sophomoric. I'm sure some who watch his show will enjoy it, but as far as supplying real news, it is a poor substitute to what you were publishing just a month or so ago. If this is the new Newsweek.....I'll save my subscription money when the current one expires.

The interest in the Iraq war is not gone. The truth is that for all of the flag waving and yellow ribbon waving most Americans still don't have a clue as to why the troops are there in the first place. Like the sheeple that they are most Americans saw our troops in battle and blindly hollered YEE-HA; let's kick some butt even though most have no clue as to where Iraq is or the difference between an Iraqi,Pakistani, or Indian person. So the only real connection most people had to this war were the troops and the body count. Now that the body count has subsided its out of sight out of mind. In true GREED fashion Americans are worried about their money. They could care less about Iraq or the Iraqi situation as long as American troops aren't dying. This was a war with no conviction based on lies from the start and like with any lie once it stops having a direct effect on a person they could care less if it continues or not.

There is no victory to be had. They are starting to kill each other again, and we are leaving. If Maliki can keep his forces together, there may be a chance. Those that did not come are heroes anyway you cut it. This was a war of CHOICE, not NECCESITY. Dubya fiddled while Rome burned. FUBAR.