Let the Iraqis Bargain

That's the advice that Washington Post columnist David Ignatius is giving in this morning's edition. I totally agree with Mr. Ignatius' advice.
"We need to be patient to get it right," Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told me in a telephone interview yesterday. "Their concept of time is not the same as ours. While we press them to hurry up, the American people also need to be patient."
Spoken like a wise statesman, Mr. Ignatius. I heartily agree.
Khalilzad recounted the items that the Iraqi political factions have agreed on in private negotiations over the past month. On Sunday, the leaders signed off on the last of these planks of a government of national unity. The Iraqis have saved the hardest issue for last, the names of the politicians who will hold the top jobs. That bitter fight will play out over the next several weeks.
That's a significant step in the right direction for the nation's well-being. It won't be easy but it's within sight. Considering how close they are, it hardly seems wise to rush now. As Zal Khalilzad says, it's best to be patient.
The political agreements are fragile, and they will be blown away if the factions can't form a government soon to put them in practice. Meanwhile, beyond the Green Zone, Iraqis are still being slaughtered every day in the streets. But given where Iraq was six months ago, when Sunni and Shiite leaders were barely talking, their agreement on the framework for a unity government is important. These negotiations may not succeed, but they are not a fairy-tale fantasy, as some critics argue.
Steady progress is being made. Things might unravel if we give Iraqis reasons to doubt our commitment to them. Establishing a democracy in the heart of the Middle East is too important. The last thing we need is for our political leaders, like John Kerry did this morning, to lose their nerve.

Hopefully, more people will agree with David Ignatius than with Kerry. We'd be well served if that happened.

Cross-posted at California Conservative

Posted Wednesday, April 5, 2006 11:29 AM

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