We are now one week away from the election of a government in Iraq under the new constitution approved in October.  This may be one of the most important political events in the Middle East in the last 800 years.  It is the climax of our military / political campaign to (a) remove Saddam and (b) midwife a moderate, modern, democratic society in Iraq.  We are now within seven days of that goal. And yet, there has been a sudden outbreak of panic along the Potomac.  Within recent weeks, John Murtha, wielding his considerable credibility as an ex—Marine, has called for immediate withdrawal of our troops, confusingly to only 'over the horizon' (like Okinawa?), and within recent days, Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic Party, has said that we cannot win in Iraq.  How does he know? What has caused all this croaking? And why now, within days of what may be the turning point in the Iraq War?  It is worth while recalling that there was croaking in...(Read Full Post)