This article asks:
Can Baghdad Reclaim Its Role as the Intellectual Capital of the Middle East?
Nobody would be able to ask this question if we hadn't destroyed the Saddam regime and then defended the new democracy against Baathist, al Qaeda, and Iranian attacks.
But given the oppression, violence, and unrest in the rest of the Arab world, saying Baghdad has the best chance to lead the intellectual world of the Middle East isn't the strongest compliment.
Yet if we don't reduce the threats to Iraq's fragile society (Syrian violence, al Qaeda terror, Iranian aggression, and Sunni Arab--within Iraq and regionally--suspicion), we won't ask this question for much longer.
