Baghdad Attacks

Yesterday's attacks in Baghdad which killed dozens of people will have repercussions beyond the incidents themselves. As Juan Cole says: "Without security nothing else follows, friends. Not financial investments, not NGO aid, not more troops sent by allies. The Red Cross is needed for Iraq's reconstruction, but it is likely more or less to get out of Iraq now. The UN has already largely been chased out." I'm sure the tattered remnants of the anti-war movement will use this as another reason why the U.S. should leave, even though they don't have a viable plan for doing so. However, the world cannot afford to have Iraq turn into a failed state. While it is true better planning could have averted some of this mess, what's done is done, and the only choice now is to stay the course and put the country back on its feet by reaching out for the international help we need while trying to astutely manuever through the young but rapidly evolving post-Saddam political landscape in Iraq.