Word: iraq
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...other words, Mosul has become a kind of controlled burn in Iraq that does not appear to be an imminent threat to the rest of the country or of great concern to the government of Iraq. If Iraqi officials were truly worried about the fate of Mosul, they would have by now launched a bid to gain full control of the city, much as they did in Basra in March 2008. So if Iraqi security forces appear capable of continuing to manage the insurgency in Mosul - even without a foreseeable victory there - then Iraqi and U.S. officials could reasonably calculate...
Nothing about the strategic calculus unfolding now at high levels in Baghdad and Washington can offer much hope or comfort to the residents of Mosul, however. The Sunni insurgency has found its new, and perhaps permanent, home in Iraq and is highly unlikely to decamp on its own. That means Mosul, or large portions of it, will remain a scene of lawlessness and violence for some time to come, no matter what Iraqi and U.S. officials decide...
...most popular politician. Better still, Chirac can now boast about getting plaudits from President Barack Obama, whose recent private letter to Chirac - parts of which were published in the French press - has been widely interpreted in France as recognition for the former French leader's stance on the Iraq...
...also reached out to the internationally loathed and isolated George W. Bush, adopting the role of an adoring and trustworthy French friend. Sarkozy's group-hug address to the U.S. Congress in November 2007 was nothing short of a smash, as he waved off Chirac-era disputes over Iraq for references to America's sacrifice in World War II to promise "whenever an American soldier falls somewhere in the world, I think of what the American army did for France...
...Chirac ahead of the London G-20 summit. In it, Obama tells Chirac he anticipates their chances to "collaborate together in a spirit of peace and friendship in order to build a safer world." Most French pundits interpret the letter as Obama giving Chirac credit for correctly opposing the Iraq war as a looming strategic and diplomatic calamity - a position Obama shared. According to French press reports, Sarkozy was livid at seeing the star of world politics reach out to his longtime foe. (See pictures of Obama's travels in Europe...