Strategy 101…Barack Obama rates the invasion of Iraq as the “worst strategic blunder” ever made by the United States. When we withdraw from that country, he adds, we need to send our troops to where the real front line of the War on Terror is: Afghanistan (and maybe Pakistan).
     Where do we begin?
     The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was not in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks but because the U.S. Government believed that Saddam Hussein was building an atom bomb and had other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Bush’s CIA believed it. Clinton and his CIA believed it. Our NATO allies believed it (even if some didn’t support the invasion). And we knew for certain the Saddam had used poison gas, on his own people, and that he was a murderer and torturer capable of using WMDs if he had them. That’s why we invaded. But Saddam had either dismantled or hid any evidence of WMDs.
     That was bad enough, but inexcusably, the government, especially the departments of Defense and State, had no plans to restore peace and order in the country after the invasion. The way was opened first for lawlessness and then for outright insurrection.
     Five years have passed and we have finally defeated most of our foes in the country, including “Al Qaeda in Iraq.” But Obama still maintains that the war was a strategic blunder, says knowing what he knows now he would still vote against The Surge and that the real center of gravity of this conflict is in Afghanistan.
     Here is why he is wrong: Iraq sits between Iran and the rest of the Middle East, including Israel. Iran has made a satellite out of Syria and Lebanon, but with a free, democratic Iraq sitting between Iran and the Levant, the ability of the Iranians to dominate the region is severely hampered. With a free Iraq, Iranian hegemony in Syria and Lebanon might be broken. Iraq blocks overland aid and reinforcements from Iran going to Syria, Lebanon or to Palestinian terrorists.
     Iraq sits on great underground lakes of oil. Victory in Iraq means that their oil will not become a bargaining chop in an Iranian power play, but will be available to all who can afford to buy it. If Iraq becomes a U.S. ally, we could station troops and air power there to keep an eye on Iran without having to risk carrier task forces in the narrow waters of the Persian Gulf.
     Finally, a free and democratic Iraq will prove to the Muslim world that democracy and its institutions are not incompatible with Islam.
    Afghanistan does have strategic value. It harbors Osama Bin Laden and the remnants of Al Qaeda. Eliminating them would cripple terrorist groups around the world. Defeating the resurgant Taliban will reduce the influence of the Islamist fascists in Pakistan. Obama is right to propose a surge—if you will—in U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan to achieve these goals.
     But when you look at the geographic position of Iraq, its oil and its potential for containing Iranian expansionism, there can be no doubt that Iraq has more strategic value to the United States. Our challenge now is to get the Iraqi government to let us stick around as we have stuck around in Japan and Germany: as a friendly presence insuring that country’s lasting security. 

Am I imagining this?…Or is Barack Obama just a teensy weensy bit full of himself, taking his victory lap around Europe three and a half months before the election? The Daily Show said Obama visited Bethlehem while in Israel just to have a look at the manger where he was born….

Does anyone here know how to play this game? …Wailed Casey Stengel when he managed the hapless 1961 New York Mets. Senator John McCain might be excused if he were to wail Stengel-like about his campaign team. It’s a fine thing when a guy with all the experience in the world, like McCain, looks like a duffer on the campaign trail while Obama, who not that far removed from his days as a neighborhood activist cuts a fine presidential picture.
    Sic semper Republicans…Thus be it ever with Republicans. They seem to have lost the knack for political campaigning. Campaign staffers have been providing McCain with plenty of gaffes for him to apologize for …while Obama strikes presidential poses at the Wailing Wall, Berlin and etc.
     McCain’s effort has the same lack of fire we saw in George H.W. Bush’s 1992 bid and Bob Dole’s 1996 attempt. What McCain needs is a James Carville-type organizer who gets everyone on message –the SAME message, it should be stressed for this lot—and who is not afraid to get tough with the opposition. We deserve to see a little more fight from McCain, if only to toughen up Obama for the job he is well on course for winning.