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May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review May 14, 2007 / 26 Iyar 5767

Too soon to leave

By Mort Zuckerman

Mort Zuckerman
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Now we know that the light at the end of the tunnel in Iraq is just another express train heading our way. When we went in-as liberators, not invaders or occupiers-we thought we would create the conditions for a viable state, even a democratic one. In a troubled region, it would be a state that would not be a threat to us or our friends. What we have instead is a failed state. It cannot protect its people or apply the rule of law. Its lamentable leadership is powerless to govern. We now face the possibility of an even greater danger from Iraq than existed when Saddam Hussein was its ruler. We have removed a terrible dictator but replaced him with the tyranny of the Shiites.


The military and the police, organized by the Shiite government, are seen not as disinterested national forces but as a uniformed Shiite militia serving only the interests of its own community. The elections didn't bring democracy; we now know that they merely sharpened ethnic division. Perhaps it should have been obvious: After hundreds of years of suppression, the Shiite majority had little appetite for reconciliation with the Sunnis, who were now mostly without power. Witness the government's reluctance to fund projects in Sunni areas, or to investigate Shiite death squads. Indeed, we must ask if the Shiites have any intention of sharing power with the Sunnis-and the Kurds, as well-in a way that might help drain the poisons of this vicious sectarian war. Or is their real purpose to string America along while using our firepower to destroy their Sunni rivals? The political compromises that bring about national unification are exactly those that the government of Nouri al-Maliki has balked at for the whole of the past year.


Forcing their hand. Hope is a good breakfast but a poor supper, and there is not enough here for a midnight snack. The Iraqi politicians have not used the opportunity of our extra presence in Baghdad to reach agreement on such imperatives as dividing up a fair share of oil revenues or working out an amnesty for the deposed Baathist bureaucrats. The leading Democrats and some Republicans are now convinced the only way to get the Iraqis to budge is to set our departure in motion. The exasperation this represents is justified.


Unfortunately, making good on the threat carries grave risks that seem not to have been calculated. The most likely outcome would be an escalation of the civil war, consigning millions to the mercy of corrupt and sectarian leaders. It would be a death sentence for the tens of thousands who have worked closely with Americans, defying warnings that collaborating with the occupiers is punishable by execution. It would be a gift to Iran. With control of the oil fields and the Shiite spiritual capital of Najaf, Iran would become a Shiite superpower and emboldened in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. With Iraq abutting the Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia, the effect on the region and our interests would be devastating.


Millions would follow the 2 million refugees who have already spilled out of Iraq. Kurdistan could declare independence, provoking Turkey-a NATO ally-to intervene. Oil prices would rocket. Extremists like the anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr would have enhanced capacity for mischief. In such a failed state, still riven by sectarian violence, Iraq would serve as a launching pad for al Qaeda terrorist operations throughout the region. Such a famous victory for America's two biggest enemies, Iran and al Qaeda, would render America's broader war on terrorism very much more difficult, if not unwinnable. This is an enemy who will strive to follow America home.


It might be argued that my sketch is overdrawn, that Iraqis will learn to live together and deal in their own way with alien terrorists. But if they can't do that when supported by the world's most powerful military, what chances are there when they are left on their own? And even if there is a smaller probability of the horrific consequences I have suggested, it still remains a chance that can't be taken. The concern to bring the troops home and reduce our casualties is wholly understandable, but the risks make it impossible right now.


What is missing from the public dialogue here at home is an honest recognition of these abiding American interests in Iraq. The Democrats believe that public dismay over the war will bring political gain; the Republicans think they win if they can paint the Democrats as doing anything to thwart our soldiers' efforts. Both parties are playing an all-or-nothing political game, sacrificing the opportunity to develop the necessary bipartisan support for the long war against Islamist extremists. Every day around the world there is fresh evidence of their evil designs. It is not a struggle that will be won on the quick or on the cheap, or on the basis of domestic politics.


Until we understand this, who can feel secure?

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Mort Zuckerman is editor-in-chief and publisher of U.S. News and World Report. Send your comments to him by clicking here.

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