The Luxury of Debate

"While many countries debate whether Iraq deserves support or not, civilians are being killed by terrorists who know where they stand -- against Iraq's people.

The NYT reports that Iraq is trying to prove that it's a real country: "With the Americans leaving and security improved, the Iraqi government has been on a nonstop campaign to convince the world that it is a sovereign state, a client neither of the United States nor of Iran."

The writer says countries are suspicious of Iraq's relations to other countries. "In most of the Middle East, being too close to the Americans earns leaders the scorn of Arabs who view the United States as a heavy-handed ally of Israel, a colonialist empire builder and anti-Muslim. In Europe, where many countries opposed the American invasion, the continuing presence of American soldiers coupled with Iraq’s unstable security situation meant that until recently many countries remained skeptical of Iraq’s independence."

Though security is improving, Iraq's not quite there yet. Al-Qaeda and other terrorists are still determined to destory Iraq. That's why the recent comments in the press about U.S. presence and deadlines."
IraqiPundit