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The Good, The Bad, And The Iraqi

Patrick James
By Patrick JamesAug 03, 2007
Patrick James
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You want to believe it--the notion that the very literal victory enjoyed by the Iraqi soccer team in the final of Sunday's Asian Cup could portend a figurative and eventual victory for the citizens of the war-torn nation, if not for the human spirit at large. At least Michael E. O'Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack do. So suggests the title of their op-ed, "A War We Just Might Win," which appeared in The Times Monday. Granted, they qualify that notion of "winning" with many a stipulation. Nevertheless, the headline's not entirely misleading.

Unless, that is, you consider what the article is actually saying. Phillip Carter--you'll remember him from our Issue 5 cover story on veterans--offers to Slate his take on why recent successes on the Iraqi battlefield (or for that matter the soccer field) have little bearing on the long term stability of the country.

Chances are, you can probably guess how Kos feels about all this. Click here to see if your guess was right.

elections and politics

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