Iraq & the Middle East

Amid the strong reason for hope in Iraq, the press at home stays obsessed with the supposedly bad news there. Ben Connable, a Marine actually stationed in Iraq, writes about what is actually occurring here. Indeed I want to echo his thoughts.

Meanwhile, more reason appears as to why Iraq matters: the dangerous voice of Iran's president was heard again this week, with his spewing of anti-Jewish rhetoric, denying the Holocaust (haven't we heard this before!). The story exposes the reasoning that many want to dismiss of the critical need for a stable democracy in Iraq, even at the cost of American lives.

Even the New Republic has to admit the historic nature of the Iraqi legislative vote! Lawrence Kaplan states that the elections were a turning point: "But yesterday really was a milestone. However torturous the path to Iraqi democracy may have been--and a series of U.S. errors made it needlessly so--for America at least, the path ended yesterday."