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This Won’t Be The Iraq Election

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On the ground, far from Bush's rhetoric of transformation, these conditions have moved American policy toward realism. Will it work? For Iraq to genuinely recede as a campaign issue, this order has to endure. The balancing act—between Sunnis and Shiites, ISCI and the Mahdi Army, Arabs and Kurds—could easily collapse. As the United States draws down its troops, each of these various forces will try to gain the upper hand. A stable Iraq does not mean a pretty one. The ISCI are our allies but are also the most pro-Iranian element within the Shiite community. (Sadr's followers have historically been the most anti-Iranian.) Building up Sunni militias contributes to the fracturing of the country. But there are no great options here. Petraeus has at least moved the United States into a more flexible position, one that gives it leverage with all communities, allows it to adjust its tactics and forces the creation of local balances of power. It moves us closer toward what must now be the larger strategic objective—to create enough stability to allow the United States to reduce its exposure in Iraq.

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Posted By: JTC111 @ 11/16/2007 3:39:32 PM

Zakaria, you're a shmutz. The objective of the surge was to give the Iraqi government time to come up with a political solution to sectarian violence. That hasn't happened; nor is it sitting on the horizon waiting for the sun to illuminate it for all the world to see. Stop trying to sell that magical Bush Elixir and start telling the truth without spin.
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Posted By: okie_magic @ 11/11/2007 2:21:33 AM

We can argue about whether the surge is working or not, but the fact remains that Iraq is still very unsafe, her infrastructure is destroyed and Iran will exert more influence there as time goes by.

Bush neutered military commanders who disagreed with him about Iraq and has now had to go back to them to fix his failed strategy.

Those who jumped on Bush's Iraq bandwagon may have to take the ride off the cliff with him when Americans decide who is more competent to run the government. Yes, reality is a b i t c h.
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Posted By: Jack3213 @ 11/09/2007 10:41:11 AM

Now back to reality: It does certainly matter ALOT that a Republican is elected if only to continue to be consistant in the battle on the War on Terror. We are there, there is no turning back, sobbing and whinng about it isn't going to change it, and every Democrat ( except Obama) knows it. Hilary will keep us in the war and it is time you all wake up to that fact. if you want change you must realize it won't be here for a long time. No new president is able to make that happen in 4 years. REALITY is A B-ich.