Tuesday, April 10, 2007

U-Turns and The Iraq Problem

The problems are vividly reported in the media, debated in Washington, and make for even more arguments on the internet. One constant theme emerges - what can the U.S. do to create stability in Iraq and the middle east? Is there a practical, effective solution or are we stuck in a lose-lose situation?

A piercing and grim assessment was offered today in a column by Dana Milbank of the Washington Post, as he talks about a new book from Iraqi politician Ali Allawi, called "The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War and Losing the Peace". The bottom line here is that resolving the war and establishing a secure and peaceful Iraq continues to fall well short of success. A sample from the column:

"
The book condemns the "monumental ignorance" of American war planners and the "rank amateurism and swaggering arrogance" of the occupation authority. Allawi had previously written that the Middle East is in a "death spiral" and that "another 100 years of crisis are being sown" in Iraq."

"So what's the solution? "I think the time has come for the United States to take the lead, actually, in doing a U-turn," this "adviser" to Maliki announced. "And by a U-turn I mean a fundamental turnaround in thinking in terms of -- strategic thinking in terms of what's important and what's not important in the Middle East. And you have to move from this military fixation to this new architecture."

The Washington Times also reports on the Allawi's book and speech.

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