If it could happen to Churchill… could it befall Bush? Why a wartime leader’s success can be his electoral downfall. My latest Time column is up.
CASUALTIES FALL: Good news from Iraq on two fronts. The U.S. military casualties in February amounted to 23 – half the previous month’s. It’s the lowest monthly number since the invasion and represents a very steep drop-off from the 110 casualties last November. The number of wounded has also hit a new post-war low. Credit goes to those trying to control the Sunni insurgency. There are front page stories when soliders are killed (and rightly so). But there should also be front-page stories when we make real progress. And that’s why it’s also good to see the New York Times trumpet Iraq’s rebound in oil production and revenues. Well ahead of schedule. When you put all this together with Ayatollah Sistani’s acquiescence to end-of-year elections and the new cooperation of the United Nations, you have the architecture of real success. Fingers crossed. I have, naturally, a question about this success. Could Halliburton have had anything to do with it?
The Dish 