Rich Lowry responds to an earlier piece by Lawrence J. Korb and Peter Ogden about increasing troop levels in Iraq. They all have good points to make. Korb and Ogden are correct to point out the strain the Army is facing with many units having deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan. Lowry is correct to say that if we want to win in Iraq, and we can win with more troops, we ought to deploy those troops necessary to achieve victory. The underlining argument is really not about troop levels but about whether or not "victory" can be achieved in Iraq through the application of American military force. After many months of watching the story unfold I am increasingly inclined to believe that traditional victory cannot be achieved until the outside meddlers, Iran and Syria, (especially Iran) are taken out of the fight. This does not mean that we will "lose" in Iraq. So long as we maintain over 100,000 troops in Iraq, none of the players can seize power by military means. None of Iraq's neighbors can invade and seize chunks of Iraqi territory, and Al Qaeda cannot operate with impunity, as they did in Afghanistan prior to the American invasion of that country. The question remains, however, about the staying power of the American public. If we cannot win without regime change in Iran and Syria, or at least a change in their meddlesome policies, and we cannot lose so long as we keep our troops in Iraq, then we have a stalemate that could last for many years. Americans don't like stalemates, especially ones that cost American lives.

The Pope is taking some heat from a Turkish cleric about remarks the Pontiff recently made concerning Islam.

The GOP is gaining ground in the battle for control of Congress. Chalk it up to falling gas prices, rising concern about terrorism, and the inability of Democrats to shed their peacenick image.

Charles Krauthammer does a cost-benefit analysis of a military attack on Iran to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons. It is a sober and frightening analysis. Both options are very bad, and Krauthammer thinks we only have about a year before the decision must be made.