Iraq Can Be America's Prize

Washington seems listless these days when it comes to the Middle East. The Obama administration is in power but doesn’t have very clear ideas about how to deal with the region’s multiplying difficulties. Those who served under George W. Bush have clearer ideas, but that’s a luxury that comes from being out of power.

The American capital maneuvers within the confines of what is politically achievable. Whether you’re for or against Barack Obama, you engage him through the agenda set by his administration. That’s why one idea remains a blip on Washington’s radar screen, precisely because it would represent a radical overhaul of American thinking in the Middle East. The idea is simple: The United States must build a strategic partnership with Iraq, the Arab world’s Germany.