Iraq: Worth the Effort

Fareed Zakaria, a Newsweek International Editor, wrote in a Washington Post editorial today that in spite of all that has gone wrong, “Iraq is still worth the effort.”

Zakaria began:
“Three years ago this week, I watched the invasion of Iraq apprehensively. I had supported military intervention to rid the country of Saddam Hussein's tyranny, but I had also been appalled by the crude and unilateral manner in which the Bush administration handled the issue. In the first weeks after the invasion, I was critical of several of the administration's decisions -- crucially, invading with a light force and dismantling the governing structures of Iraq (including the bureaucracy and army). My criticisms grew over the first 18 months of the invasion, a period that offered a depressing display of American weakness and incompetence. And yet, for all my misgivings about the way the administration has handled this policy, I've never been able to join the antiwar crowd. Nor am I convinced that Iraq is a hopeless cause that should be abandoned.”

During his trips to Iraq, Zakaria wrote that he has seen “remarkable patience, courage and statesmanship” by Iraqi leaders. He praised the role of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the Kurds, and Ayad Allawi. In spite of sectarian power struggles, he added, “all three communities – Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds – are sitting down at the table, trying to construct a workable bargain they can all live with.”

Read Zakaria’s piece here.