But our friends in the Middle East — including Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., and Qatar — are in fact strongly opposed to a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces. Leaders in those countries understand what Obama will not admit: that the recent gains we have so painstakingly achieved could unravel if the United States withdraws. On a recent trip to the region, I had the opportunity to sit down with several high-ranking government officials. They told me that a U.S. troop pullout would be extremely destabilizing for the entire region and would embolden Iran, the chief threat to our allies in the area. One official went so far as to tell me that he prays nightly that Obama’s ...

But our friends in the Middle East — including Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., and Qatar — are in fact strongly opposed to a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces. Leaders in those countries understand what Obama will not admit: that the recent gains we have so painstakingly achieved could unravel if the United States withdraws. On a recent trip to the region, I had the opportunity to sit down with several high-ranking government officials. They told me that a U.S. troop pullout would be extremely destabilizing for the entire region and would embolden Iran, the chief threat to our allies in the area. One official went so far as to tell me that he prays nightly that Obama’s statements about Iraq amount to nothing more than campaign rhetoric.

Taking account of new realities, our allies have recalibrated their interests. Sen. Obama’s Iraq policy must now undergo a similar recalibration. If he continues to talk of rapid withdrawal and deny the progress we have made, he risks doing a serious disservice to his own reputation at home, and to our country’s reputation abroad.

— Alexander Benard, a recent graduate of Stanford Law School, has interned at the Department of Defense and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Hi alan, great link At first I thought it was a piece I saw on Fox about a similar success story. I'll look it up tomorrow.

[he fought against coalition forces as the executive officer of a commando battalion around Baghdad's airport during the invasion of 2003, before quitting on April 9 as the Iraqi army crumbled.]

This part made me laugh*

Rejoining the army in March 2004, he quickly established himself as one of the rising stars of the new military due to his aggressive instincts *("My tactics are simple," he says. "Whenever we see the enemy, we go after them,")
General Ali makes no excuses for being a patriot and a pragmatist. While he goes out of his way to praise his U.S. ...

Hi alan, great link At first I thought it was a piece I saw on Fox about a similar success story. I'll look it up tomorrow.

[he fought against coalition forces as the executive officer of a commando battalion around Baghdad's airport during the invasion of 2003, before quitting on April 9 as the Iraqi army crumbled.]

This part made me laugh*

Rejoining the army in March 2004, he quickly established himself as one of the rising stars of the new military due to his aggressive instincts *("My tactics are simple," he says. "Whenever we see the enemy, we go after them,")
General Ali makes no excuses for being a patriot and a pragmatist. While he goes out of his way to praise his U.S. co-commanders and their soldiers — and to thank the families of America who have sent their sons to fight and die in an unpopular foreign war — he ultimately sees America's input as a means to an end. "I am an Iraqi," he says. "I want Iraq to be independent and strong. And the best way for me to help make that happen is to work with the coalition forces. That is the best path for the future I want for Iraq."

That's pretty amazing for that article to be published in
Time Magazine.