A Plan Under Attack

Newsweek -- Less than two weeks into the second gulf war, does Operation Iraqi Freedom risk blowing up into a Middle East war?

Last Wednesday, CIA officials gave a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill about the rising tide of anti-Americanism sweeping the Arab world. Particular emphasis was placed on Jordan and Egypt. As agency officials discussed the depth of hatred for U.S. actions, the senators fell silent. There were delicate discussions about the uncertainty, if the war was protracted, of “regime stability.” After the briefing, “there were senators who were ashen-faced,” said one staff member. “They were absolutely depressed.” Much of what the agency briefed would not have been news to any close watcher of the BBC or almost any foreign news broadcast. “But they [the senators] only watch American TV,” said the staffer.

Just by watching and reading international sources you have to know that Arab and Muslim anger has gone white-hot. We can win the military battle but the political war, why we fought, appears doomed.