The president’s primary goal in 2008 is simple: reaching an arrangement with Iran. Ideally, this would be a mutually agreed upon deal that splits influence in Iraq, but we have already moved past the point where that is critical. Al Qaeda, the reason for being involved in the region in the first place, is essentially dead. The various Sunni Arab powers that made al Qaeda possible have lined up behind Washington. Iran and the United States may still wish to quibble over details, but the strategic picture is clearing: a U.S.-led coalition is going to shape the Middle East, and it is up to Iran whether it wants to play the role of that coalition’s spear or its target. And the Bush administration has the full power of the United States — and one long year — to drive that point home.Read it here.
And there is this -- Michael Yon writes [hat tip Instapundit].
"Major offensive has begun in Mosul. This is likely Al Qaeda's last real stand in Iraq. Surely they will continue to murder people for a long time, but they are running out of places to hide."Read it here.
Excellent news, and more evidence that Bush knows what he is doing in foreign affairs. He is marginalizing radical elements in the region, neutralizing their sponsors, and constructing a defensive alliance, not unlike NATO, that will ensure America's dominant role in regional development for decades to come. Like it or not, we will be living for a long time in the world that Bush made.
The evidence is mounting -- Dubya is the most consequential president since FDR.
More later.
