Sunday, July 04, 2004

The proxy war is on in Iraq

Without mincing words, the USA is currently engaged in proxy warfare with Syria and Iran. Although the Iraqi Governing Council did not name names officially, unofficially they pointed the finger at the two countries as the worst offenders for supporting insurgents. There are indications that there are sympathizers within Syria's border guards and intelligence services. Given the stakes, both Iran and Syria are likely continuing clandestine efforts to develop and acquire nuclear weapons as insurance against US military intervention.

This is not a surprising outcome, though. What's interesting is that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans seem interested in framing the Iraq situation in this manner. Perhaps Republicans fear this would be tantamount to an admission that that America isn't yet safer from terrorism and preemption has not been effective as a nonproliferation strategy; perhaps Democrats fear that said situation would justify if not require ongoing US troop presence.

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