Exiting Iraq, Petraeus Says Gains Are Fragile
By DEXTER FILKINS

Yet for all the signs of fatigue, General Petraeus is preparing to leave Iraq a remarkably safer place than it was when he arrived. Violence has plummeted from its apocalyptic peaks, Iraqi leaders are asserting themselves, and streets that once seemed dead are flourishing with life. The worst, for now, has been averted.

Article Continues… (New York Times)

While it’s a total long-shot he’d be named, I’m really starting to think General Petraeus may be John McCain’s best VP option.

Analysis: US now winning Iraq war that seemed lost
By Robert Burns and Robert H. Reid

The United States is now winning the war that two years ago seemed lost.

Article Continues… (Associated Press via Google)

You know, it’s tempting to bust the AP’s chops over this as so many others are doing, but I choose to look on the positive side; when even the Liberal-leaning Associated Press is finally willing to admit we’re winning, it must mean we’re on the cusp of a very decisive victory. Go get ‘em Dubya!

Remember folks, Barack Obama opposes this war to the point he wants to just admit defeat and bail out.

Bush adviser says Iraq timeline “very dangerous”
By Reuters Staff Writer

President George W. Bush’s top military adviser said on Sunday setting an unconditional two-year timetable for getting U.S. troops out of Iraq in two years would be dangerous.

Article Continues… (Reuters)

This makes sense; withdrawal based on conditions in Iraq will leave the people with a much more stable government/infrastructure, and lessen the possibility of a terorist takeover.

Saddam collected information on dozens of potential targets in Israel
By Amir Oren

Saddam Hussein’s intelligence service collected information on dozens of sites in Israel, including airports, other transportation centers, as well as scientific and religious centers that were thought to be potential targets for attacks.

Article Continues… (Haaretz)

So, Saddam was planning a possible attack on Israel with Yasser Arafat. Why am I not surprised?

By Thomas Lifson

One of the claims of leftist critics of the war and occupation in Iraq is that we have supposedly alienated Iraqis and now Al Qaeda has a strong presence there. The latter claim is at odds with the reality that AQ is on the run and has turned to places like Somalia and Pakistan’s frontier as havens.

Article Continues… (American Thinker)

This is a very promising turn of events. Sadly, once President Obama withdraws from Iraq (like it or not, Mr. Cult of Personality is most likely the next Commander-In-Chief), this will all take a sharp turn in the opposite direction.

CRAWFORD, Texas (AFP) — US President George W. Bush on Saturday told his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that he must “stop exporting terror” on the eve of the Iranian leader’s first visit to Iraq.

Ahmadinejad hopes his historic visit to Iraq on Sunday will mark a major step in strengthening ties between Iran and its conflict-torn western neighbor.

Article Continues… (Iran Focus)

US President George W. Bush will one day be tried in court just like deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for his involvement in the Iraq tragedy, said Iran’s supreme leader Friday.

Speaking to thousands of worshippers during the first Friday prayer of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Bush will be called to account for the US-led invasion of Iraq.

“A day will come that the current US president and officials will be tried in an international supreme court for the catastrophes they caused in Iraq,” he said.

Full Article (Jerusalem Post)

What catastrophes? Removing an evil leader? Fighting a terrorist group? Not letting Iran move in and take over?

WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (IPS) – Israeli officials warned the George W. Bush administration that an invasion of Iraq would be destabilising to the region and urged the United States to instead target Iran as the primary enemy, according to former administration official Lawrence Wilkerson.

Wilkerson, then a member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff and later chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell, recalled in an interview with IPS that the Israelis reacted immediately to indications that the Bush administration was thinking of war against Iraq. After the Israeli government picked up the first signs of that intention, Wilkerson says, “The Israelis were telling us Iraq is not the enemy — Iran is the enemy.”

Full Article (IPS News)

Based on this, Zionism-Israel.com asks: Is this the end of the Jews started the Iraq war lie?

Based on this, combined with current knowledge of the Middle East, I ask: Is it possible that, by ignoring Israel, we attacked the lesser of two evils?