George Packer argues, correctly, that Barack Obama needs to recalibrate his position on Iraq to reflect the changing situation in Mesopotamia. One quibble: Packer says that a too-rapid withdrawal might lead to a revival of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)…an unlikely scenario, I think, given the Sunni population’s total rejection of AQI’s severe interpretation of Sharia. This is perhaps the best news out of Iraq, with regional implications: Al Qaeda is selling something most Muslims don’t want to buy.
Obama’s 16-month withdrawal plan always seemed, as Samantha Power charitably put it, “a best case scenario.” It’s time for him to reestablish contact with the improving, but fragile, situation on the ground.
