The ever-shrinking reach of U.S. Iraqi policy

First, the Iraqi presidential council rejects setting up provincial elections. Next, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates tries to browbeat Turkey into leaving Kurdistan before it is good and ready. Here’s Gates:

“It’s very important that the Turks make this operation as short as possible and then leave,” Gates said before departing India. “They have to be mindful of Iraqi sovereignty. I measure quick in terms of days, a week or two, something like that, not months.”

And here’s Ankara:

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the operation would only end “once its goal has been reached.”

Well, that’s pretty clear.

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Will Democrats please STFU about a “diplomacy offensive” in Iraq?

The nattering of people like Sen. Joe Biden (D-MBNA) makes it sound like the war in Iraq is solvable by other means if not winnable by military ones.

Joe: It ain’t “solvable,” either; certainly not as long as any of our troops are still there.

Besides, who are we going to “diplomacy” with? Iran will play the stall game. Syria is going to want major money (at least some degree of it, rightfully) for its Iraq refugee problem. Turkey’s going to demand we reign in the Kurdish area more than we have the ability to do with the number of troops there. The Saudis will say “yes” and still funnel money to Sunni insurgents because of Iran.

That’s our Democratic leadership: Still about two exponential factors behind the curve.

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