I'm Living The Dream.

The Sunni Arabs Began To Realize That They Had Made A Huge Mistake By Not Voting In The Election Of 2005 And By Not Being Part Of The New Iraq. They Had Reasons For This: They Were Effected By The Disestablishment Of The Military And By De-baathification (the Dismantling Of Saddam Hussein's Party) In Winter 2007-2007. They Increasingly Recognized That Their Future Lay In Being Part Of The Solution Rather Than A Continuing Part Of The Problem.

I Am Neither A Pessimist Nor An Optimist. I Am A Realist, And The Reality In Iraq Is That It Has Been Very Hard And It Continues To Be Hard.

Afghanistan Has Other Enormous Challenges As Well, Including A Political System That Is Still Very Much Developing, Although There Has Been Some Progress In The Past Several Years.

Over The Last Few Years They Have Done A Superb Job In Their Fight Against Al-qaida. As You May Recall, Our Embassy In Jedda (in Saudi Arabia) Was Overrun Some Four Years Ago And A Number Of Foreign Workers Went Home Because Of Violence Against Them.

This Cannot Be The United States Being The Air Force For Shia Militias, Or A Shia On Sunni Arab Fight.