"Thanks to the military and political successes of Mr. Bush"

Così il primo editoriale del Washington Post commenta il probabile successo, malgrado le contraddizioni evidenti per andare incontro all’ala radicale del partito, del piano Obama sull’Iraq, con obiettivi "quasi identico" a quelli definiti da Bush:
"Most important, Mr. Obama spoke of Iraq not as a fiasco to be abandoned but as a "great nation" whose "future . . . is inseparable from the future of the broader Middle East." He said his administration aimed for "a new era of American leadership and engagement" in the region and "will work to promote an Iraqi government that is just, representative and accountable, and that provides neither support nor safe haven to terrorists." That is almost exactly how the Bush administration defined "victory" in Iraq. Thanks to the military and political successes of Mr. Bush’s last two years, there is reason for hope that Mr. Obama’s strategy can achieve that aim"