What has to be asked is if Robert Gates will be able to prepare a strategy for Iraq. I personally hope so. He is one of the members of the Baker Commission and the little bit of news that has leaked out of their conclusions has been hopeful. In addition, I look back on another military leader, General George Marshall. At the time General Marshall was the Secretary of State instead of Defense. However, he rightly saw that the battle was actually one of economics and education and the the military role was for logistics more than anything else.
If we can create a Marshall Plan for the Middle East, if we can recognize the ethnic divides that exist there just as there were ethnic divides in Europe at the time, if we can change the emphasis from a war of destruction to a joint effort for construction, perhaps there is great hope for Iraq.
Aslan is not a
Tame Lion