A note on Iraq

Dave Ignatius writes in The Washington Post:

"But there are unmistakable signs here this week that Iraq's political leaders are taking the first tentative steps toward forming a broad government of national unity that could reverse the country's downward slide."

Iraq is going to have good days and bad days. We must understand that and stick with the Iraqi people.

Al Qaeda has a clear strategy. Blow up everything and kill as many innocent people as possible.

Why? Because Al Qaeda understands the US news media. It understands that their horrific acts will get more publicity than all of the good things going on in Iraq.

Stick with the Iraqi people. Support them.

Speaking of Iraq, former Sec. of State George Schultz delivered a great speech. Tom Bevan of RCP has a summary:

"Schultz, who traced the war on terror back to the 1970s, divided the struggle into three stages.

The first period, which lasted until Sept. 11, 2001, was marked by U.S. passivity and inaction toward terrorist attacks. Even in the 1990s, the U.S. government was aware of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda but failed to check their growth, much like American inaction during Hitler's rise to power, Shultz said.

"The terrorists had completely free reign," he said.
September 11 set off the second, active military phase of the war against radical Islam, Schultz said. Americans were now aware that terrorist groups could target not just sovereign states, but also world finance, tourism and even air travel.

At present, with the war in its third stage, Schultz said that economic and military sustainability are vital for America to prevail. And in Iraq, he said, Americans must remain dedicated to the cause."(http://www.realclearpolitics.com/blog/2006/03/schultz_at_princeton.html)

Sec. Schultz makes an excellent point. In the 1990s, we did not check the growth of terrorism and were very weak on Iraq. The result was 9-11 and Saddam's perception that we would not fight.