Keeping Score

Came across a really solid article yesterday by Thomas L. Friedman. Reminded me of the bit in Bush At War where Bush asks the CIA to make him up a score card containing the names and pictures of all the top al-Queda leaders. Then he could cross them out as they were eliminated.

Well Mr. Friedman has provided us with a handy scorecard for the current war in Iraq. A list of six questions that will tell us if we are winning this war or not. Questions such as "Have we occupied Baghdad — without leveling the whole city?", "Have we killed, captured or expelled Saddam?", or "Has an authentic Iraqi liberal nationalist emerged from the U.S. occupation to lead the country?."

It was his last question that I found particularly significant and troublesome. "Is the Iraqi state that emerges from this war accepted as legitimate by Iraq's Arab and Muslim neighbors? That is very important, both for the viability of whatever Iraqi leadership follows Saddam, and for the liberalizing effect it may have on others in the neighborhood. In the absence of any U.N. endorsement for this war, the successor regime to Saddam will have to legitimize itself by becoming something that Arabs and Muslims will point to and say, "We don't like how this was done, but we have to admit America helped build something better in our neighborhood." This outcome is crucial."

I hope we are able to achieve this outcome.