Posted by
Karen Spencer on Thursday, December 07, 2006 6:27:23 PM
So much has been said about the Iraq Report. And so much criticism. And so little vision. It seems that what Americans are doing is looking through America's prism. Which is fine, since American's self-interest must come first. However, if American's self-interest must come first, we must solve the situation in the Middle East. And by that I mean Iraq. And American hasn't done a very good job solving that problem militarily.
The military has its place. However, it is NOT the sole solution. We sorely need diplomacy. If President Reagan had just invaded Russia during the Cold War, America would have gotten nowhere. Instead he chose to have summits with the several leaders of Russia during his Presidency. He hit gold with Gorbachev.
In politics, timing is everything. America must now listen to the recommendations of the Iraq Report. America must open some doors of diplomacy. And the timing of with who to open those doors is critical. Syria appears to be logical. Iran's head may be too big. The Report says that Turkey has much to lose with what ever America does in Iraq. So we must be careful with this ally.
The Report says Israel's role is key. America will never give up on Israel. So some sort of peace must be accomplished in that regard.
The bottom line: Diplomacy is a required component in settled the Iraq situation. Diplomacy was used heavy by President Reagan and other great American Presidents. President Bush must use it now to salvage his last two years in office.