What happened
U.S. forces and Iraq's new government made a two-pronged push to break the back of the country's insurgency this week, with soldiers executing a string of raids and government leaders proposing a broad new amnesty offer. Jalal Talabani, the newly named president, said the amnesty program would be part of a peace initiative that could also include the release of militiamen loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. 'œWith a comprehensive policy,' Talabani said, 'œwe can eradicate terror in the country within months.'
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What the editorials said
The U.S. has won the 'œtest of wills,' said The Wall Street Journal. There was never any doubt that militarily the U.S. would eventually prevail in Iraq. What was in doubt, however, was 'œthe home front's willingness to see the war through' when confronted with a determined and brutal insurgency. It turns out that 'œthe key to victory wasn't competence, but perseverance.' President Bush never blinked, and neither did the American people who re-elected him.
Don't start celebrating yet, said Newsday. The Shiites and Kurds running the new government are presenting a united front, but they could soon be entangled in 'œbitter squabbles.' Shiites insist that Iraq's new constitution have 'œan Islamic flavor,' while Kurds want a secular system. The constitution, which has not yet been drafted, is supposed to be voted on by all Iraqis in October. Between now and then, the danger of political stalemate and factional violence looms large. Unfortunately, 'œgood news about progress in Iraq must always be tempered with skepticism.'
What the columnists said
But the good news just keeps on coming, said syndicated columnist David Limbaugh'”not that you'd know that from the mainstream media. The number of American fatalities is falling. Iraqi security forces are gaining strength. The U.S. marines have Abu Musab al-Zarqawi'”the most wanted terrorist in Iraq'”'œrunning from brush pile to brush pile, just like a wet rat,' in the words of one general. No one wants to 'œprematurely count our chickens,' but can't we all agree that we've 'œturned the corner on the insurgency'?
Perhaps, but there's still plenty to worry about, said Spencer Ackerman in The New Republic Online. Iraq's Defense Ministry says that half of the enlisted men, and 75 percent of the officers in Iraq's new military, served under Saddam. It's impossible to know how many remain loyal to him. So Kurds and Shiites 'œaren't chasing at phantoms' when they fret about a possible coup. Some National Assembly members want to purge Sunnis who were members of Saddam's Baath Party. But that would 'œdrive Sunnis further and further away from the political process at exactly the wrong time.'
Many dangers indeed lie ahead, said Jim Hoagland in The Washington Post. But the progress so far has been truly 'œextraordinary.' Think about it: Talabani, Iraq's new president, is a member of the Kurdish minority, which Saddam gassed by the thousands. As for Saddam, he followed the news from his prison cell. That's 'œmatrix-breaking stuff.' Iraqis are now actually debating 'œminority rights' and working to create a society that allows for diversity and dissent. If they succeed, the Middle East may never be the same.
What next?
The New York Times
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