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We’re Fighting the Wrong War

'What remains is a negative objective, stopping the war from spilling over, within Iraq but also outside it.'

 
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  • Posted By: pawinda @ 01/26/2008 2:34:32 AM

    Comment: Respected Mr. Fareed Zakria, with due respect , I happen to read one of your article"IN THE DARK HOURS". This was regarding a wave of unprecedented Terror in PAKISTAN. The answer to your innocent Qurry is very simple, PAKITANIS ARE AT WAR WITH U.S.A. It is an open war with closed eyes of entire Muslims.

  • Posted By: klebrun @ 01/25/2008 2:10:06 PM

    Comment: The death toll for the Iraq war, which we did not need to fight, is grossly understated. Besides massive Iraqi deaths, it does not take into account the additional deaths of Americans who are being denied health care coverage because of the cost of the war in Iraq - expected to cost well over a trillion dollars before we are finished.

    For example, with an estimated 45 million uninsured Americans and an estimated one trillion dollars, the money spent on the Iraq war would average $22,222 per person, enough to pay almost ten years of health coverage for every uninsured person.

    The average mortality rate in the U.S. by 2007 estimates is 8.26 per 1,000 population, or 371,700 deaths per year for a population of 45 million. The Kaiser Commission report, published in 2006, estimates the death rate for uninsured could be reduced by 10-15%. (1)

    ???Research has consistently shown that the lack of insurance ultimately compromises persons??? health because they are less likely to receive preventive care, are more likely to be hospitalized for avoidable health problems, and are more likely to be diagnosed in the late stages of disease. Having insurance
    improves health overall and could reduce mortality rates for the uninsured by 10 to 15%.???

    That amounts to a reduction in premature deaths ranging from approximately 37,000 to 55,000 per year for the uninsured population. So, each year we are condemning to death, for lack of insurance, a population that approaches the deaths caused by the nuclear attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima that ended the war with Japan.

    (1) http://www.illinoiscovered.com/assets/cover_7451.pdf

  • Posted By: impartialobserver @ 01/24/2008 10:08:09 PM

    Comment: The occupation was illegal, unadvised, unfounded and just plain wrong. America has done more damage to Iraq than they could ever hope to undo, and the country has turned into a battleground. Even if the American Government did this on an altruistic impulse, which I think is a ludicrous claim, they had no right to trespass Iraq's sovereignty. I am not from Iraq, and I can't imagine what it's like having foreign troops enter your country to overthrow a dictator the American Government itself supported for so many years. What nationalist pride do the Iraqis have left now? All those martyred Iraqi civilians: what did they deserve to die like this while we all are safe and secure, and have nothing to fear from non-existant weapons of mass destruction? What is the world coming to? Why are we humans so deaf to the screams of those innocent Iraqis? We compromised our own humanity when we failed to stop this madness and loss of precious human lives. This is no Iraqi or American or Muslim or Christian or Jewish loss- it is a human loss, and I hope we are not too blind to see through our different appearances and understand the difficulties that humans face today.

  • Posted By: tc125231 @ 01/24/2008 9:03:30 PM

    Comment: This is a noble aim. I am entirely skeptical that other countries --the key ones anyway (The EU-NATO, Japan,Russia, China) will put their blood and treasure on the line in sufficient quantities to bail us out.

    That may --indeed -- be shortsighted. However, a reluctance to pay the price for someone else's incompetence and folly is hardly unprecedented.

  • Posted By: pablito @ 01/24/2008 8:24:41 PM

    Comment: For the US occupation to be successful they don't need international support, they need Iraqi support (from the people not a government controlled by the US). And guess what the Iraqis don't want the US there (torturing their brothers, murdering their fathers, raping their sisters and starving their children - for oil). It wasn't an international movement in the first place and it was to find WMD or instil democracy and for all the attempts to disguise it and dress it up in new clothes - you are only going to fool Americans no where else are people so ignorant.

    • Posted By: observer101 @ 01/24/2008 20:50:59

      Comment: Its been a few years now and we still see no relief from sky high oil prices...so that kinda shoots your theory out of the water. Saddam was an admitted murderer. Killing his own and Kurds for power and wealth. No matter the reasoning for going in there to Iraq, We took an evil person out of this world. Thats what dictators need to see..One of there own getting what they deserve. Im sure you would have loved to live there before the US got there, no freedom of speech so you could shoot your mouth off like now. If you did Saddams Baath party would have got you or your family and tortured you to death. He KILLED thousands that WE know of. So dream your little dream of how peaceful it was before we got there. So dictators beware.

  • Posted By: singletaxonland @ 01/24/2008 1:05:56 PM

    Comment: Give me a break. These two superstitious factions have been in conflict for over a 1000 years and now Bush and General Petreus have put the lid on it? Don't think so. We have no obligation to interfere with our military
    in Iraq. Period. Pull out now and stop wasting lives and our tax dollars.

  • Posted By: peartreehill @ 01/24/2008 11:52:49 AM

    Comment: Mr. Zakaria, I love you, but you are dead wrong about Obama. Perhaps you need to have an interview with Smantha Power, Obama's Foreign Policy Advisor -- she has always indicated that Obama only wants his withdrawal combined with intensive and comprehensive international diplomacy. So that as President Obama pulls the troops out as quickly as safety will allow, regional and other countries will help with the sectarian and political mess our disaterous war will leave behind.

    This column should have been aimed at John McCain, who just said it would be fine if we stayed in Iraq for 100 years! McCain is the one who needs to be smacked down, not Obama and the other Dems.

  • Posted By: peartreehill @ 01/24/2008 11:38:07 AM

    Comment: Fareed, I love you to death -- but Barrack Obama has always said that our withdrawal should coincide with intensive and comprehensive diplomacy to get the other countries in the region and around the world to come in and help deal with the sectarian problems that our disastrous war caused.

    It is the Republican candidates -- and John McCaIn especially -- who are completely wrong about dealing with the reality of the current situation in Iraq.

    THAT is what your column should have been about.

    Talk with Smantha Power, Obama's Foreign Policy Adviser, Mr. Zakaria. She will let you know what Obama's plan is before you write a column like this.

  • Posted By: putterman05 @ 01/24/2008 9:33:02 AM

    Comment: After reading this article I have come to the conclusion (and the above photo confirms this) that Fareed Zakaria is on CRACK! I will concede that the so called "surge" is having a positive effect on the level of violence in Baghdad. But the main reason is not just because of the US and Iraqi forces. The main reason is because Muqtada Al Sadr's militia has honored his cease fire order and have essentially laid down their arms. Had they continuted their sectarian confrontation with the Sunnis, the bombs would still be detonating throughout the city. And in any case, the violence has spread elsewhere. If the war is effectively over, bring the troops home. Plain and simple. Why keep them there? Sounds like everything's peachy.

  • Posted By: SensibleCentrist @ 01/24/2008 8:52:44 AM

    Comment: Let's remember the "surge" is achieving some success because the Sunnis switched sides, not because we surged. And when asked why they switched sides, the Sunni sheiks said it was because they finally became convinced we would withdraw, and therefore they stopped viewing us as occupiers....and why did they change their view? Because they saw the American people were pressing for withdrawal, saw the Democrats increasing their political power in the US. So the Democrats deserve credit for helping the surge succeed.

  • Posted By: Jason Samarcolm @ 01/23/2008 10:42:25 PM

    Comment: I also like how commentors are vetting the media accounts of Al Qeada atrocities. Too bad the American soldiers don't get the same respect (i.e. Murtha and Haiditha, all cleared but one, currently on trial). They support the troops though - just attend any anti war protest and read the signs for yourself.

  • Posted By: Jason Samarcolm @ 01/23/2008 10:40:50 PM

    Comment: The Democrats banked on America's failure. Now in the face of mounting prove they were wrong about the surge, the crowd who criticized Bush for not facing reality and not processing new info. is in full spin mode. How ironic - this same crowd is the one who cried, "Bush lief" for 6 years is now about to nominate Hillary Clinton. Talk about mentally challenged.

  • Posted By: goldwp21 @ 01/23/2008 9:28:11 PM

    Comment: Can someone make sense of this article for me? The democrats were wrong for not supporting the surge, but right in their long-term vision of the political situation? The republicans deserve credit for their surge support, but are "loopy" for wanting to continue to support that same strategy? Huh?

    And yeah mentioning that Sunni warlords don't want to fight the US (or don't want to while we're dropping money and guns in their laps), but DO want to fight Shiites...well...that's not gonna do much for the "they're laying low 'til the surge stops" crowd.

    • Posted By: PaulaQ @ 01/24/2008 16:53:52

      Comment: I'm with you! What the heck is Mr. Zakaria saying here? What is "new" reality?
      I just don't get it. The surge is working because of the number of troops but someday maybe other troops can come in and keep the surge working because after the war is over, we'll need more troops to support the troops who ended the war that we have to keep from turning into a war?
      Didn't Fareed used to write columns that made sense? I always thought he did but maybe I was living in some "old" reality. I'm so lost now that I had to look up reality in the dictionary! There were two examples in the use this in a sentence portion of the definition.
      1) " his dream became a reality"
      2) "trying to escape from reality"
      maybe one of these fits the description of a "new reality"
      I won't ask fareed for his definition of reality because I feel that the last person to ask for clarification is the one who caused the confusion in the first place.
      He can have his "new" reality as well as his "new" style of Orwellian journalism.

  • Posted By: Unitedelectric @ 01/23/2008 4:28:45 PM

    Comment: Wow. How did i know that the tinfoil hat briggade would come out with guns blazing after this one, where an honest assesment is being offered. You all should go back to ranting about the perpetual motion maching that GM is supressing. Or is this really what the readership of Newsweek looks like nowadays? P.S. don't look now, but Bhagdad is a much more safe place to hang than Chicago. But SSShhhhhhhh...

  • Posted By: sjmanikt @ 01/23/2008 1:22:52 PM

    Comment: Wow! The war's over! I had no idea!

    So these guys:
    http://voanews.com/english/2008-01-23-voa34.cfm
    ...just didn't get the memo?

    And if the war's over, then it's no big deal to bring the troops home, right? The "poor Democrats" shouldn't have to worry, because all that's left to do is break out the brooms and mops. Let there be celebrating! The war's over!

  • Posted By: sjmanikt @ 01/23/2008 1:21:21 PM

    Comment: In what way is this "war" largely over? So did these guys just not get the memo or what?

    http://voanews.com/english/2008-01-23-voa34.cfm

    Another day, another 80 dead. But hey, Fareed Zakaria says the war's over, so it must be so. You'd think that if the war was over, then Democrats planning to pull the troops out immediately would be no big deal, right? Or even within a year. I mean, the war's over! Nothing left to do but break out mops and brooms and stuff.

  • Posted By: mouselion @ 01/23/2008 11:32:33 AM

    Comment: "If we are to engage in peacekeeping, the operation needs to be internationally recognized, sanctioned and supported???as it was in Bosnia." - Unfortunately by making the whole affair a cavalier, unilateral effort with only token help from other countries to begin, we're only going to get "see, we told you so..." from the international community. Why shouldn't the U.S.? The entire invasion and occupation was ill-conceived, deceptively sold and a failure at Bush's stated objectives. "Winning" now means containing the neo-con caused virus from spreading.

  • Posted By: lovejusticepeace @ 01/22/2008 11:09:58 PM

    Comment: We might as well call earth as Mars , the god of war.
    And call Mars as earth,which is at the moment at peace!

  • Posted By: BurningFeet @ 01/22/2008 10:48:48 PM

    Comment: Largely over? Look here, another McCain supporter has come unstuck in time and landed in 2003.

  • Posted By: NK-1975 @ 01/22/2008 10:43:27 PM

    Comment: I knew you were sans substance when you stretched into a book, that half baked essay of yours - "Illiberal Democracy". A high school kid [from China or India] could have poked a dozen holes in your thesis. But, Of course, you probably knew that, didn't you?
    Btw, daljit dhaliwal is a vast improvement. not only because of looks.

  • Posted By: EdNutter @ 01/22/2008 8:54:09 PM

    Comment: Why, if we are to engage in peacekeeping, does the operation need to be internationally recognized, sanctioned, and supported? If this country considers the peacekeeping to be in its interests, and if the elected Iraqi government is agreeable, then that is all that's necessary. If India, Poland, and South Africa want to help, and still if Iraq agrees, then that's international recognition and sanction.

  • Posted By: pichiflay @ 01/22/2008 11:31:50 AM

    Comment: Are you trying out for a perch at the NYT? keep up the good work and you'll be joining the ranks of Kristol at the NYT with your sound foreign policy analysis.

  • Posted By: pichiflay @ 01/22/2008 11:31:33 AM

    Comment: Are you trying out for a perch at the NYT? keep up the good work and you'll be joining the ranks of Kristol at the NYT with your sound foreign policy analysis.

  • Posted By: jj_s @ 01/22/2008 10:31:35 AM

    Comment: I'm sorry but I've lost all respect for you, Mr. Zakaria after this column and your pompous and vacuous appearance on Bill Maher's show on HBO on Firday last, 01/18. To say, "...the war has largely ended" is to have an incredible amount of naivety nay smug know-nothingness-parading-itself-as-all-knowingness! I understand the pressures of penning a 1000-odd word article every other week, but you've transcended all bounds of ridiculousness, inanity and fakery. Please, for the sake of all "desi" competence that S. Asians are known for, STOP WRITING!!

  • Posted By: gtlloyd @ 01/22/2008 10:19:25 AM

    Comment: 26 American Soldiers killed this month...another 15 billion pumped into Iraq but never mind, the war is over. It will be over when we are not spending money or American lives over there.

    I have to ask. Are you a tool for the administration or just mentally challenged?

  • Posted By: flagwaiver @ 01/22/2008 9:57:12 AM

    Comment: I was intrigued but sceptical about faminchin's infrormation on forced cannibalism and cell-phone detonating drones. I tried to Goggle the subjects, but the only hit I got was on the baked children. It turned out to be a post by faminchin on 1/12/08. So, faminchin, is this first-hand information? Second-hand?

  • Posted By: blingfling @ 01/22/2008 9:53:50 AM

    Comment: Dear Fareed,

    What is your secret? How can someone as naive as you get a column at Newsweek? Lemme know, cos it sounds like a sweet gig!

    Ritchie

  • Posted By: Stan A @ 01/21/2008 10:01:25 PM

    Comment: The surge coincided with local disgust at all the violence, separation of Sunnis and Shiites in vulnerable areas, a cease fire by Sadr and the desire of local Sunnis to be in control over the movement we call al Qaeda, so that the levels of violence are down but not out. Whether it succeeded in the short run may matter to Bush and the Republicans who want to succeed him, but in the long run the problem remains the same. America can be one more militia in there banging in shifting alliances with the other militias, and hoping to kill more insurgents than our heavy handed tactics create. However this occupation is doomed to fail in the long run and America can not afford the losses it is giving us. The combatants continue to lay low, attack when the opportunity permits and settle scores among themselves. Local cease fires do not a nation make. We will suffer the same fate as the former colonial powers did. Bush has alienated the world with his unilateral action, and we can only hope that a new administration will be able to get some international help to preserve the interest the world has inpreventing more of a humanitarian disaster in this oil rich part of the world.

  • Posted By: donknudson @ 01/21/2008 9:47:17 PM

    Comment: Negative objectives have been at the heart of this escapade. When you lose touch with reality you create a bigger mess than you had before you went on a psychotic rampage. The neo-conservative war mongering macho crowd has had their way and now we see the fruits of their unbridled testosterone.

    I predict that the unfunded financial and human cost of this episode of American foreign policy will eat into our fiscal and psychological health going forward for decades to come. The next president must clean up the mess or at least contain some of the mess made by our fearless and foolish leaders.

    If paying for the war was too costly today because it would depress our economy, what makes us think paying for it later with interest will not be even more costly to our economy?

    People who got stuck with sub prime loans and those who issued them are now paying the price for their reckless borrowing binge. This neo-conservative Bush government has done the same thing to our Federal budget by borrowing everything to run the war and occupation of Iraq.

    The US Government is flirting with becoming a sub prime government. Thank you, President Bush, for your support of our troops with unsecured borrowed money! The American Empire you and your cronies envisioned when attacking Iraq is crumbling under overwhelming debt. The terrorists you like to think you are fighting will have won a great victory when our government and economy is sucked into the black hole of deficits you piled on us with your ill fated war and unwillingness to be fiscally responsible.

    The next president and we citizens of the country will be faced with achieving negative objectives regarding our domestic economy. Can the damages to our democracy and Republic be contained so they do not overflow into the rest of the world? That is the central question of our democracy.

  • Posted By: faminchin @ 01/21/2008 9:35:56 PM

    Comment: There are so many reasons why things have turned around in Iraq, many of which have not been reported on here in the United States. For example, we brought into the conflict a new weapon, an unmanned plane that rings every cell phone below it as it flys over. The result was dramatic. Terrorist across Iraq were blown up with their own bombs they were building, since cell phones are the common trigger to these explosive devices. Terrorist are now afraid to arm their explosives, afraid of this new weapon flying over them as they do.

    Another story widely know in Iraq, but not reported in the US was Al Qadia in Iraq baking 10 year old children in an oven and serving them to their parents on a platter with fruit stuffed in their mouths. This one event alone had a dramatic effect on Iraqi's and their support of our enemies.

    The fact of the matter is Democrats have invested all their energy into our defeat in Iraq. Now that things are turning around, they have to scramble for ways to spin our success into defeat, since our defeat has been their main source of achieving political power.

    There have been many things during the past 6 years that I have had difficulty understanding, but the main one is how Democrats have been able to gain political power, by doing everything they could to insure our defeat in Iraq. Democrats are responsible for more of our troops deaths in Iraq than our enemies!

    If you only had the text and no audio, you could not tell if you were reading the words of Pelosi, Reed, or Osama Bin Laden. They have all been saying the same things. That is the reason terrorists around the world celebrated the Democrats victory in our past election. They see Democrats as their allies!!

    • Posted By: sjmanikt @ 01/23/2008 13:35:12

      Comment: What a bunch of bunk. There's no "ring every cell phone" magic device, and there is not a single documented case of Al Quaeda serving children to their parents from Al Quaeda-run corner baby bakeries.

      Idiot. You don't NEED to make them more evil than they already are. There's plenty of information on the real atrocities Al Quaeda in Iraq have committed, the US occupation forces have committed, and the various Sunni and Shi'a militias have committed without bringing urban legends into the picture. You don't need them to make baby pies to demonstrate evil.

      The account of killing and baking a baby is wholly insubstantiated rumor. Here's a link:
      http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56643

      Not a single verified eyewitness.

  • Posted By: famulla @ 01/21/2008 10:50:42 AM

    Comment: The bottom line to my comments is WE LIVE IN A building, we put a post outside where all can see,??? To Let .sell or rent???. Does that explain what we are in?
    Let me elaborate. The terrorist have been bad. I agree and you agree as we have seen the damage they have done to our structures and how now we are coughing up to weed them out. It is expensive at what cost? Here is a typical example of what we do and what we think we are doing
    Kenya and Tanzania were the targets of Osama in 1992. Kenya was in the minds of many but Tanzania. No. Sir. This was only a postage stamp. Even the letters were marked as P.O.Boxxxxx Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, South Africa. The Osama bombs turned this to read Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, East Africa. Would you call this as a blessing to many in Tanzanians? Yes? They are on the map. Once they were never known except for the tourists who came to see the lions on the trees in Manyara parks. Here I am not advertising anything. Same is the case with Iraq. Hussein, AH (we always salute them with alihis salaam) grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, SAW or many write this as PBUH peace be open him. Was martyred in Karbala. Sadam and his cronies with many Sunni scholars kept this hidden from the Muslim books. Shias knew of this. On 19th January the TV was abuzz with the ceremony held by the Shias beating their chests mourning in the death of the grandson Hussein.
    The tints of black and white are out on the table and more followers do not wonder about this hiccup but are proud to state that the invasion of USA has at least opened up the Shia sects very apt, very clear, and the Shias thank them for them. They could never have done this. This is free note to many who never knew the truth from the lectured false.
    I see that way. Call this cruelty; I am not a politician who kills many. Even Gaza today on 21st January is in dark. Israel has cut of the power. Egypt is helping Palestine. No, the picture seems to be coming out more open then any time before. Is this what I want, Yes sir. Bu all means. I feel sorry for the mothers who lost sons, I feel sorry for the wives who lost the husbands. I am sorry. But that is the policy of the false decision by the politicians was oil. They did not succeed. They failed. Do I blame them? Yes. The young soldiers got marred by the wars in many countries by the name of fanatics, terrorists, Mullahs, the Osama groups, Saadam Kirks. But why blame the poor. Israel cuts off the power of the hospital where the babies are dying. Is this wart we wanted the wars for? I doubt.
    Am I happy now? No. many are still on the verge of half meal a day in the days of plenty. It grieves anyone.

    I thank you
    Firozali A Mulla MBA PhD
    P.O.Box 6044
    Dar-Es-Salaam
    Tanzania
    East Africa

  • Posted By: eddiewhere @ 01/21/2008 1:25:22 AM

    Comment: THe leadership of Al Queda is not in Iraq. They just use Iraq to cause chaos. The war in Iraq is a disaster waiting to happen because there are so many factions fighting eachother, but it has always been that way. Al Queda is based in pakistan and has spread throughout the Muslim States in Central Asia. They are building their bank rolls with drug money. Al Queda seems more interested in making money these days, unfortunately these nuts want to use the money to purchase biological, chemical and nuclear technology so they can start a world war. Make no doubt about it, that is their agenda. So we need to go into these places and eliminate this growing cancer. We have to do it NOW because we are running out of MONEY. We need to get rid of the leadership so that the governments can implement reform and sustain it. This organization has multiplied to hundred and fifty thousand in pakistan. These AL QUEDA terrorist supporters are also reforming the education system in northern pakistan and spreading the chapter of JIHAD throughout the region. These same nuts killed Bhutto because she was going to allow the U.S. to go into that region with packistani support. It is time we flex our muscle and let the nations know privately that if we are attacked again they face annihilation. It is the only deterent. The terrorist are ruthless so we have to even more ruthless in hunting them down. Do we have to get attacked again in order to go into remote areas and kill these terrorist leaders. THey hide, train and then let their indoctrinated weapons of suicide reap havoc across the globe, The international community needs to step up and create an antiterroist force that is made up of all religions and all races. That force needs to control the spread of terror after we leave. We as a unilateral force cannot effectively combat terrorism infact we might be creating an enviornment where terroist leaders always have a platform of occupation against us.
    We really need to go to the source of problems and contront them. Russia and China and countries in Central Asia need to be included more in the international war against terrorism.

    Risk Management. The risk of letting these terrorist multiply in pakistan is worth going into remote areas and eliminating them now not tomorrow. If we can go to the moon we can find away to get at these terrorist. They cannot get away with nine eleven and any candidate that stresses that will surely rack up a lot of votes

  • Posted By: neiro @ 01/20/2008 9:03:08 PM

    Comment: AS LONG AS WE ARE SPENDING $15 billion a month (THAT WE CANNOT AFFORD) in Iraq the war IS CERTAINLY NOT OVER!

  • Posted By: eddiewhere @ 01/20/2008 5:59:28 PM

    Comment: We are about to go into a recession because we are wasting HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Any presidential economic plan will be directly affected by the events in Iraq. We need to get the hell out of Iraq because our military presence in that region is a constant irritation to the region. Anyone who is knowledgable about Homeland Securtiy will tell you that Al Queda is regrouping. They attack in Waves and it only take one big Hit to change things on the ground. Just because things are going well now does not mean they will remain the same. This is the trap so many have fallen into, they supported the war because it seemed everything was progressing well, as soon as things started to deteriorate everyone jumped ship. In this case people jump ed off the ship and then got back on amazing.Not one more American life should be wasted in Iraq. We can secure the oil without force. We cannot afford Iraq we are living beyond are means and this will never get old. This is why Obama has fallen off a little, he is not stressing a specific middle class plan that is stronger than Hillary's. He is not reaching out and uniting Latino's and Blacks. Could you imagine if he held a March to end racial tensions that included all races. He needs to stay on the Iraq issue and let the American people know their is a cheaper and more intelligent way to deal with the situation in Iraq. ALSO, for some reason Obama looks fatigued and tired. It could be that he is trying to quit smoking. If he stops cold turkey it will be hard for a month. But if he smoke once in a while it will affect his nervous system. Looking Tired during the New Hampshire debate hurt Obama. Obama is young he should never look Tired. He never stressed that his economic plan is more beneficial for the working mother than Hillary's. These are the issues that brought victory in IOWA. The CLinton machinery is outworking the OBAMA machinery. The Hillary machinery is bringing in over fifty per cent of the vote. So Obama needs to push harder and make up that small percentage he is losing buy. Unfortunately, it appears OBAMA has fallen into the race trap
    Obama has accomplished the hard part, people like him and are listening. Now he has to fill their ears with Economic prosperity and relief to the middle class. He should have a march for the MIDDLE CLASS that INCLUDES ALL RACES AND ALL AGES. He needs to battle Hillary for the older vote. Senior Citizens and Latino's make up a large majority of the electorate in Florida. OBAMA needs to start telling these people specifically what he is going to accomplish on behalf of their interets.

  • Posted By: razedbywolveswi @ 01/20/2008 4:52:46 PM

    Comment: Iraq is deeply divided between Sunni and Shia and democracy remains a messy business fraught with uncertainty. The peace between them has been fragile for hundreds of years and nothing the US or the UN does is likely to change that. Dr Zakaria seems to gloss over the devastating defeat al Qaeda has suffered in Iraq. Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri declared Iraq the central front of their jihad against the west. Thanks to the psychotic brutality of al Qaeda???s foreign fighters, their Sunni brothers in the Anbar and elsewhere have rejected them as enemies of Allah and helped our soldiers destroy them wherever they can be found. If this is not fighting al Qaeda and hurting their recruiting effort then what is? Without any help from the democrats or the UN we are pursuing an intelligent counter insurgency strategy under General Petraeus that will result in the establishment of a democratic Iraq rather than the new Caliphate.

  • Posted By: richardeverett @ 01/20/2008 3:40:18 PM

    Comment: If anything can and will be done, it will be done by us. The international community has shown itself at best to be feckless and unwilling. We have been forced, willy-nilly to step in everywhere, and when we ask for a littel help, we get excuses. NATO is a spent force, as the Euros have so disabled their militaries that they are incapable of anything but complaining.

  • Posted By: brtnk @ 01/20/2008 3:07:51 PM

    Comment: It's interesting that the press continues it's negative analysis of the Iraq war when it appears that the result of the war will be a government that by most measures is a remarkable improvement from Saddam H's hell on earth. If the Democratic candidates choose not to recognize this, then they will may pay a price at the polls. McCain's popularity shows that the American people do see the advantages of establishing a democracy on the border of Iran.

  • Posted By: Wyman Bowles @ 01/20/2008 3:04:32 PM

    Comment: Can't we all just get along?

  • Posted By: ghostcommander @ 01/20/2008 1:53:28 PM

    Comment: Cut the funding, bring our soldiers home, and turn the peace-making over to the U.N. Our presence in Irag has a radicalizing effect upon the entire Middle East.

  • Posted By: nduqu @ 01/20/2008 12:37:03 PM

    Comment: Excuse me sir. When an Army (the Sunnis) decide not to fight, it's usually because they're defeated and don't want to die. As to the brilliant suggestion to solve all with an internationl conference, I believe that's been tried continuously. Did you forget that the U.N. left wen the first shots were fired and U.S. State Department types don't want to go because it's too dangerous. Perhaps the conference held be held in Paris.

  • Posted By: alan howe @ 01/20/2008 11:03:47 AM

    Comment: The important US national interests of maintaining a strong defense and eliminating Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda that attacked us in 2001 have been undermined by the war in Iraq. The surge only exacerbated that problem. Visit www.iraq-itag.org to learn about a plan that will restore focus on these vital national objectives while guarding against the consequences in Iraq and the Middle East that Zakaria and Biddle fear. - alan howe

  • Posted By: magintob @ 01/20/2008 8:34:54 AM

    Comment: Finally, a commentary that makes sense. If the US Gov't can see the difference between what they believe they are fighting and what the real fight is about, then they can readjust the rhetoric and plan a withdrawal without fear of losing face. But they will have to start telling the US public a different story.

  • Posted By: awynative @ 01/20/2008 6:58:44 AM

    Comment: Zakaria was the earliest voice to correctly identify our occupation of Iraq as one of peace-keeping in a civil war. Has our administration made overtures to the U.N. who has the programs and resources to compliment our policing role? We can't do it all. If we haven't, why not?

  • Posted By: SeaLove @ 01/20/2008 1:33:13 AM

    Comment: The US need to stop invading countries! We need to stop forcing our way of living into others. American military force signed to defend the United States and it way of life, not to export it and impose it into others. the use of force shall be our last recourse and those who think "we should stay there" is time for them to volunteer and sign, I did my tour and we had no mission to accomplish but, to die and kill, while those who approved and found reason for the war sleep in the safety of their homes.

  • Posted By: ODOYO @ 01/19/2008 5:09:39 PM

    Comment: I think there is no safe passage near US politicians to bring the army back from Iraq otherwise Bush would have brought them just after the failure in estblishing democracy.

  • Posted By: Al Pippin @ 01/19/2008 4:13:53 PM

    Comment: I don't think I could have said it any better. What has been said by the author of this article not only reflects reality, as it currently exists in Iraq, but it does so without any ascertainable prejudice or bias. Just the facts - simple and to the point. What a refreshing relief. I can't say enough.

 
 
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