THERE are actually two countries between Iran and Syria. One is Iraq, a land caught between al-Qaeda terrorists and Iranian-supported Shiite extremists. Iraq is a country facing a complex set of challenges, run by imperfect leaders with various agendas, protected by many courageous security forces hindered by sectarian elements among them. It is a country in which American forces are essential to establishing and securing order and are succeeding in that task. It is a country where there are no easy solutions, but where success is possible if Americans and Iraqis show the necessary determination and skill.
The other country between Iran and Syria might be called “MyRaq.” (For this coinage, we are indebted to our friend Joel Rayburn.) This is a different country entirely-a land that exists only in the imaginations of various American political leaders in Washington and in the Green Zone. In MyRaq, the problems are fairly simple and solutions are obvious, although they differ from one MyRaq to another:
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