THE FOOLISHNESS OF BAKER'S LINKAGE

Even the Editorial Board of the Washington Post has figured out just how foolish James "F**k the Jews" Baker's prescription for linkage really is (Hat Tip: The Real Glenn):

Start with the supposition that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is somehow central to ending the chaos in Iraq. In fact, even if the two-state solution sought by the Bush administration were achieved, it's difficult to imagine how or why that would cause Sunnis and Shiites to cease their sectarian war in Baghdad or the Baathist-al Qaeda insurgency to stand down. It's no doubt true, as study group chairmen James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton have said, that every Arab leader they met told them that an Israeli-Arab settlement must be the first priority. But the princes and dictators of Riyadh, Cairo and Amman have been delivering that tired line to American envoys for decades: It is their favorite excuse for failing to support U.S. initiatives and for refusing to reform their own moribund autocracies. In fact, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other Iraqi neighbors have vital interests in the ongoing Iraqi power struggle. They can and should be moved to help stop the slide toward anarchy on their borders whether or not peace breaks out in Jerusalem.

As Kurdistan President Barzani has pointed out (along with Iraq President Talabani) the Baker-Hamilton Iran & Syria Gift does not address the realities of the Iraqi situation itself, and it is an "insult to the people of Iraq."

It is also an insult to the United States Armed Forces, whose heroic sacrifices deserve far, far better from the political leaders of their country.