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Article: Breathing room: stepping back to move forward in Iraq.
- Article from:
- The National Interest
- Article date:
- September 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The National Interest, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IN JULY, I made my seventh trip to Iraq. From military bases in Basra, Fallujah and Anbar province to Baghdad's Green Zone, I spent time with our diplomats and our generals, with Iraqi political leaders and with our troops. Even forty-eight hours on the ground, in a protective bubble, makes more vivid all that we have achieved--and all that we still must overcome.
In Iraq, we confront two parallel realities. Our military and civilians are doing extraordinary work, under the most difficult conditions--and they are getting results. For example, the Iraqi army is much more capable than it was just a year ago, thanks to an increasingly effective U.S.-led training ...