Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Just Back from Iraq   [Rich Lowry]

Just got back from an 11-day trip to Iraq. We visited 10 out of the 18 provinces, 10 brigades, and every division (except the Koreans). It's an incredibly complicated place, but two generalizations that I took away: 1) security conditions continue to improve and the sectarian civil war is basically over (for the time being); 2) everyone—Sunni and Shia, north, south, west, and center—hates the central government, which is creating the potential for a ground-up political movement that could eventually create a more responsive, practical government. 

 

As always (this was my second trip), visiting Iraq is a humbling experience. You realize the incredible risks our men and women take every day, and the amazing progress they have been able to forge even as their achievements are ignored or denied back home. And you realize how little you know about Iraq. It's one of those places where the more you know about it, the more you realize how little you know about it. Thanks to all those who made the trip possible, and to all those who took the time to explain to us their work.

 

(One last political note: From the prism of the war, a lot of the conservative criticisms of McCain fade toward insignificance: He was right about the surge, and he's the candidate standing in the way of a President Obama or Clinton potentially throwing away all we've accomplished.)

02/13 12:22 PMShare