Two Options For Iraq
Columnist Charles Krauthammer feels the ISG report is a dismal failure and offers nothing tangible to work with. He says Bush should do two things to salvage the war in Iraq.
"He must do two things. First, as I've been agitating, establish a new governing coalition in Baghdad that excludes Moqtada al-Sadr, a cancer that undermines the Maliki government's ability to work with us. It is encouraging that the president has already begun such a maneuver by meeting with rival Shiite and Sunni parliamentary leaders. If we help produce a cross-sectarian government that would be an ally rather than a paralyzed semi-adversary of coalition forces, we should then undertake part two: "double down" our military effort. This means a surge in American troops with a specific mission: to secure Baghdad and (together with the support of the Baghdad government -- a sine qua non) suppress Sadr's Mahdi Army."
I am not sure the first can be done. I have been reading "The Looming Tower" and getting a feel for the fervor of the Islamic fascists who masterminded the 9/11 attacks. They are a relentless force, bigger than we imagine and they are not going away. I am not sure we can swat down someone like al-Sadr. His bitter roots may be too deep into the Islamic strata of frustration and hate that drives the jihad against the modern world.
