Steyn Online Sunday: Watch the U.S. Self-Destruct

Why the Iraq war is turning into America's defeat.

February 18, 2007
BY MARK STEYN Sun-Times Columnist

The week's news from Iraq: According to the state television network, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was wounded in a clash with security forces just north of Baghdad. A senior deputy was killed.

Meanwhile, the punk cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has decided that discretion is the better part of mullahs and has temporarily relocated to Iran. That's right: The biggest troublemaker in Iraq is no longer in Iraq. It may be that his Persian vacation is only to marry a cousin or two and consult with the A-list ayatollahs, but the Mookster has always had highly sensitive antennae when it comes to his own physical security -- he likes being the guy who urges martyrdom on others rather than being just another schmuck who takes one for the team. So the fact that urgent business requires him to be out of town for the Big Surge is revealing at the very least of how American objectives in Iraq are not at the mercy of forces beyond their control; U.S. military and political muscle can shape conditions on the ground -- if they can demonstrate they're serious about doing so.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/steyn/260810,CST-EDT-steyn18.article

New York Times Will Position It Any Way But Pro-Bush

A page one lead story in today's Sunday addition of the New York Times features a story that manages to take a pro-Iranian spin in the escalating confrontation with the United States. The theme of the story is that the administration's blotched, complete failure in Iraq has allowed an opening for an innocent Iran to be a fool not to take advantage of . . . . I wonder how they will feel when Hezbollah blows up a train in Times Square near their West 43rd Street offices?

News Analysis:
Iran’s Chance: U.S. Troubles in Iraq Create Opening for Regional Shift

By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: February 18, 2007
CAIRO, Feb. 17 — In recent weeks, President Bush and American military officials have increasingly accused Iran of meddling in Iraq’s affairs. But from Iran’s perspective, given its longstanding interests in Iraq, it is the United States that is meddling in its backyard, analysts inside and outside of Iran say.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/world/middleeast/18assess.html?ref=world