Last night President Obama formally announced the withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq, bringing that sorry adventure closer its end, whatever that may be. Perhaps the fledgling Democracy, against formidable odds, will take root and flourish. Perhaps not. Al Qaeda and other disaffected parties may well be able to undermine the struggling government and [...]

Now that we’re finally in the process of disentangling from Iraq, the violence has begun to escalate again. It’s still a question whether the Iraqis are even remotely capable of managing their own security, and the current surge of bombings certainly doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. Official Washington and official Baghdad, of course, insist [...]