The Games U.S. Plays

[illinoisprogressive]

Responsible Democrats have always understood this. Barack Obama, who alone among his party's leading candidates for president stood in opposition to the war, has consistently cautioned that "we cannot leave as irresponsibly as we entered". But others in the party have gone too far out on a limb, calling for an immediate and total withdrawal - a position that is both irresponsible and unsustainable.

It is this view, with its inherent vulnerabilities, that the Bush Administration has targeted, and with some effect. A few Democratic members of Congress who had opposed the war and the "surge" appear to have had a change of heart following recent trips to Iraq.

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Making the Iraqi prime minister the scapegoat may buy the Bush Administration more time by diverting attention away from US policy failures, but this is a risky business and somewhat unfair.

In reality, the failures that Petraeus and Crocker will point to belong not to Al Maliki but squarely on the doorstep of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and its occupant.

It is the failure of the Bush Administration to embrace the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group to pursue a comprehensive diplomatic initiative that has contributed to the disfunctionalities at work in Iraq today.

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This will not be discussed on September 11. Instead, there will be gamesmanship, with moves countering other moves, buying time for a failed policy in a war that will only continue.

Dr James Zogby is the president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC.
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/world/10149340.html