Stephens: Iraq Is Obama’s Mideast Pillar
Bret Stephens has a good piece in the Wall Street Journal, with a question for Barack Obama: Iraq Is Obama’s Mideast Pillar.
So what are you going to do about the one bright spot on your map — an Arab country that is genuinely democratic, increasingly secular and secure, anti-Iranian and, all-in-all, on your side? So far, your only idea seems to bid to it good luck and bring most of the troops home in time for Super Bowl Sunday, 2010.
That’s a campaign promise, but it isn’t a foreign policy. Foreign policy begins with the recognition that Iraq has now moved from the liability side of the U.S. ledger to the asset side. As an Arab democracy, it is a model for what we would like the rest of the Arab world to become. As a Shiite democracy, it is a reproach to Iranian theocracy. As the country at the heart of the Middle East, it is ideally located to be a bulwark against Tehran’s encroachments.
There was a time when American strategists understood the role countries could play as “pillars” of a regional strategy. Israel has been a pillar since at least 1967; Iran was one until 1979. Turkey, too, is a pillar, but it is fast slipping away, as is Egypt.
Within the Arab world, Iraq is the only country that can now fulfill that role. For that it will need military and economic aid, and lots of it. Better it than futile causes like Palestine, or missions impossible like winning over the mullahs. With Saturday’s poll, Iraq has earned a powerful claim to our friendship.
Yes, you’d rather look elsewhere on the map for a Mideast legacy. But Iraq is where you’ll find it. Don’t miss your chance.
One missed chance, coming up.
Frank says: