You have to love reading the New York Times for novel coverage of the war in Iraq. In this case, the piece by the ever downbeat Alissa J. Rubin notes that there are signs the surge is working:
That’s the end of the good news however, because even after seven weeks of success, there’s still no political solution:
Rome was not built in a day, and even the U.S. Articles of Confederation lingered for 12 years before they were corrected. But what’s the timetable for solving Iraq? Seven weeks, apparently. I really like this part:
Of course, one of the things intensifying the pressure for quick results is articles that ask breathlessly why there has not yet been a political solution. Nevertheless, here is the piece de resistance:
I realize that it’s nice to be able to negotiate a settlement. But seriously, if our enemies balkanize and start fighting among themselves, I thought that was actually a good thing. Clearly my lack of experience on the battlefield leaves me with a poor understanding of how wars are fought! Following this to its logical conclusion, we may have to prepare for a worst-case scenario: what if all of our enemies kill each other? Then all hope will be lost–since there’ll be no one with whom we can sign a negotiated settlement! P.P.S.: We see Mickey Kaus is poking holes in this story as well.
