LTC John M. Kaneley, serving in Baghdad, refutes William F. Buckley's contention that Iraq is lost. He says Mr. Buckley is relying upon the New York Times to report the story accurately, which he believes is a mistake. Unfortunately for LTC Kaneley, this war can be lost only if the American people decide that it is lost. It seems too many Americans still rely on the NYT and the rest of the MSM for their news. If I am right, and the Democrats win a smashing victory in November, then the withdrawal will begin in earnest. As in Vietnam, a generation of American soldiers (including female combat pilots) will have been called to give their last full measure of devotion, to no avail. I hope I am wrong.

David Warren continues to make the case that we are living in the 1930s again, choosing to place our heads into the sand or rely on appeasers to ward off the nightmare of global war. Just as it didn't work then, he doesn't think it will work now. Glenn Reynolds thinks a tipping point in Western attitudes toward the Muslim world may be near.

Barry Posen says we can live with a nuclear Iran. Of course, the question is not whether WE can live with a nuclear Iran, it is whether the ISRAELIS can live with a nuclear Iran. I say the answer is NO.

The Iraqi Sunni politicians have rejoined the talks to form a government. I think everyone in Iraq has climbed to the edge of the abyss in recent days and seen the horrors below and is now desperate to climb back to the center.

James Carroll has an excellent analysis of why holy wars are the most savage of all conflicts, and why it is such a perversion of monotheistic beliefs.