Stompin' on the Sadr'y (or how Benny Goodman's initials reverse to George Bush)

Editor's Note: This post is from April 11, 2004

Two pieces, a Jerusalem Post Editorial and a Caroline Glick Op-Ed contain
very similar "advice" to the US and both interestingly cite similar Israeli
mistakes during comparably critical junctures in recent Israeli history.
These junctures are compared to a similar powder keg that is brewingin Iraq due to the recent "start-up" known as Sadr & Sons Inc.
The fact however that these two somewhat disparate sources - Glick a
firebrand of sorts, The Jerusalem-Post a calmer thinker - provides added
weight to their essential message: that the US needs to hit back hard and
not mess around too much with "pinpoint-this and pinpoint-that". I tend to
agree as at least the local Iraqis will then give us a grudging respect that
is afforded powerful forces in the Arab world. But more than agree on a
prescription for action, these two pieces come together to paint a picture
which frankly scares me a bit.

I've felt pretty good about both Iraq, Israel, and Sharon/Gaza for a while
now. But this latest flare up in Iraq points to some worst-case scenarios
which have the US basically backing off Iraq - largely due to domestic
pressure and the Bush team freaking out over reelection (in part due to Ted
Kennedy et all who must have a world map similar to the famous New Yorker
map distorting New York City - except his has Vietnam, maybe a little
Cambodia, some Chechnya for good measure and that's about it). Part and
parcel with that scenario - whereby the US says "look, we'll keep the peace
'till June 30 and then it's their mess" - may in tandem contain an
anti-Israel backlash. This becomes more apparent after reading the attached
pieces since Hezbollah and Nasrallah are shown as trying hard to "unite" the
two battles: US vs. Iraq and Palestinians vs. Israel - apparently with some
success.

Finally, the fact that one of these pieces termed Iran's (and Syria's!)
apparently heavy involvement in all of this an "existential battle"
definitely worries me. Iran is a powerhouse - and this whole thing is coming
down to a battle between any kind of self rule in Iraq (and Afghanistan) and
Iran's strong influence in the region (let alone its own survival as a
"Mullahcracy"). So I guess I'm really hoping that now, in this time
of decision, that Bush stays the course and stays it strong. If Bush does
get through this by not whimping out - that is, if in fact he does hit back
hard and keep us in Iraq and give Sharon the backing he's looking for, I
will not only vote for Bush, I'll publicly decry my Leftist former self!