Under pressure from Baghdad, President Bush finally appears to be reconciling himself to the idea of a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
That’s an encouraging shift that should improve the U.S. image in the Arab world, boost American troop morale, and put greater pressure on Iraqis to resolve their internal differences.
Many details concerning Iran’s missile tests this week remain unclear, and there may be less to them than Tehran’s propaganda indicates.
But the recent reports rattled the world’s oil and financial markets. The tests are a reminder of the growing Iranian threat to crucial American allies in the Middle East and Europe.
Reports of serious negotiations between Israel and Syria are at least mildly encouraging. They raise the possibility that the trouble-making Damascus regime may at last be contemplating a fundamental change in direction.
Neither President Bush nor the Democrats come off looking very good in their recent shouting match over the idea of talking with Iran.
The key principle to keep in mind: U.S. leaders should not make concessions that reward terrorism because that will encourage more terrorism.
Lebanon has long struggled to recover from its disastrous civil war. Now there are signs that the country may be heading for a repeat, one that would erase all of the gains of the past two decades and once again make “Beirut” a global synonym for violent chaos.
By Steve Winn, Kansas City Star Editorial Board
Poor Jimmy Carter.
Such wonderful intentions. Such ghastly naiveté.
Watching the former president go to the Middle East in search of peace is like watching a sheep walk into the wolf’s lair intent on building greater animal solidarity.
Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell testified earlier this week that Al Qaeda is recruiting westerners in order to carry out attacks against the United States. The New York Times article linked above reported: He said Al Qaeda was also improving what he called “the last key aspect of its ability to attack the U.S.” — producing militants, including new Western recruits, capable of blending into American society and attacking domestic targets.
A senior intelligence official said Tuesday evening that the testimony was based in part on new evidence that Qaeda operatives in Pakistan were training Westerners, most likely including American citizens, to carry out attacks. The official said there was no indication as yet that Al Qaeda had succeeded in getting operatives into the United States.
The key target of yesterday's sanctions on the various Iranian entities is the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, known to most of the world as the "Revolutionary Guards." A New York Times op-ed piece in 2004 by Vali Nasr
(who is now a professor at Tufts) argued that sanctions would be ineffective. Nasr also describes how economically powerful the Revolutionary Guards have become.
Many have expressed concern that sanctions are a prelude to military action - either air attacks against nuclear facilities or ground operations against training camps and other targets in Iran. Those advocating military action against Iran need to be cautious about assuming that Iraq can be the jumping off point for ground or air operations.
Michel Gabaudan, a representative from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, gave a somber assessment of the Iraqi refugee situation during a visit today with the Star's editorial board.
The United Nations estimates that about 2 million Iraqis have fled their homeland since the U.S. invasion in 2003. The population of neighboring Jordan is now 20 percent Iraqi. Refugees make up about a tenth of Syria's population.
According to Gabaudan:
The wealthy fled first, and their resources are drying up. The new refugees are mostly poor, and they have few options for coping in a new land. U.N. officials are beginning to see street orphans and Iraqi women and girls engaging in prostitution as a means of survival.
