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22 Apr 2008 10:04 am

Some Salient Questions About Iraq

Judith Miller asks them:

As we Americans ponder our own election choices this fall, we should ask questions about what I saw in Iraq. Why isn't the Maliki government spending more of its ample resources on the poor neighborhoods whose misery Muqtada Sadr is politically exploiting? Why isn't Maliki doing more to rebuild Iraq and provide essential services? Why hasn't Washington leaned harder on him to crack down on the corruption that is crippling Iraq's recovery and infuriating Sunni and Shiite Iraqis alike, who fail to see much improvement in their daily lives?

And finally, having successfully wooed the tribal-led sahwah -- or the Sunni "awakening" councils -- into the fight against Al Qaeda and other militants, does it serve America's interests to jeopardize that progress by fueling an internal power struggle among Iraq's Shiites, who constitute 60% of the people?

Read the whole thing. Each candidate should answer the questions: why should young Americans be asked to risk their lives to advance the cause of one Shiite faction in Iraq over another? And what guarantee do we have that the victorious Shiites, whoever they turn out to be, won't ultimately align with Iran anyway?

It's good to see Miller raising these issues. It's depressing to see so many ignore them, and to hear John McCain talk about Iraq as if Iraq can be summarized as some kind of simple battle against something he calls al Qaeda. We're really not that stupid, Senator. And neither are you.

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