President Bush's Oct. 7 Cincinnati speech outlined the reasons for an invasion of Iraq. Two of his key assertions were contradicted by Gen. Petraeus' testimony before Congress.
Asked if al-Qaida was in Iraq before we invaded, and if Saddam's government was involved in the 9/11 attacks, he said "no." How was the American populace swayed from attacking bin Laden to invading Iraq?
Hermann Goering said, "Naturally the common people don't want war but after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy. It is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether a democracy, fascist dictatorship, parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country."
If victory is a democratic Iraq, how do we overcome these ominous obstacles?
1) The strengthening Shiite ties between Maliki and Ahmadinejad. (2) Iraqi leaders declaring national reconciliation impossible because of entrenched sectarian animosity. (3) Iraq is the third most corrupt country in the world; corruption is called the second insurgency there. (4) The mass exodus of Iraq's middle-class professionals. (5) Kurdish solicitation of foreign investment in