Good point,                                                                                                                8 3 07
religious lib, about Adm. Mullen's comment regarding the necessity of political reconciliation in Iraq.

Adm. Mullen also said that stability in Iraq is critically important, important to Iraq, important to the security of the region, and important to the stability of the world (I paraphrase).

In short, U.S. failure in Iraq is not an option -- regardless of how long it takes.

And Mr. Goldberg, let me suggest to you and your friends on the N.R. Alaska cruise, the "foreign policy intellectuals" (possibly John Hillen and Richard Allen), that a "Western-style democracy in Iraq" is not necessarily a pre-condition for stability in that country.

I believe it's a little early to throw in the towel on what yet may emerge in Iraq: an Iraqi-style democracy in which the rule of law is applied equally to all citizens.

It's in their best interests to make this come about; the alternatives are just too horrific to contemplate, and every Iraqi citizen should know this, or at least, be made to know it.

How many Iraqis understand what their country will look like if, for example, al-Qaeda gets its strangle-hold on it? if, for example, political reconciliation fails and the Tigris and the Euphrates run red with the blood of Iraqis?

Like it or not, the world economies depend upon a reliable source of oil and unfettered access to those supplies. It's simply not tenable to permit the ME to descend into chaos. Remember, as our economies go so goes our social order.

The Robert-type dems would have us believe that "stupid people" in the administration are to blame for our troubles in Iraq, as if the decision to oust Saddam and till Iraqi ground for democracy was made in a vacuum.

It was not. The decision to be proactive in Iraq was in large measure a counter-move against the 50-some-odd year policy of stability for stability's sake vis-a-vis the oil rich ME states. It's an effort to change the equation, so to speak. Additionally, the record of the U.N. resolutions speaks for itself, as did Saddam's refusal to comply.

Let's be realistic. Love Bush or hate him. Despise the neo-cons or cheer them. Unless overnight we can create a substitute for oil, what options do we have? It would be easier for everyone to just throw up our hands and let the ME kill themselves off. But that's not going to happen.