Opinion (Fareed Zakaria): Losing the War, as Well as the Battle

Republican members of Congress display purple ink-stained forefingers as a salute to voters in Iraq's election during the State of the Union Address in 2005

Dec. 25, 2006 - Jan. 1, 2007 issue - It's relatively easy these days to point out all the ways in which George W. Bush has been ill-informed, misguided and wrong about Iraq.. And in case you run out of examples, the president provides fresh ones continually. But on one central issue, Bush has been right. He has argued from the start that a modern, liberal democratic Iraq would be an example, an inspiration and a spur for progress in the Middle East. The trouble is, the Iraq of today is having precisely the opposite effect. If Bush wants to save his freedom agenda, he needs to decouple it from Iraq.

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