An op-ed by U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad in the Washington Post is an example of the kind of under-reported story that characterizes the current war. Most war headlines are about sectarian killings, but every shade of responsible domestic political opinion in America--that is, opinion that doesn't intentionally seek a defeat for the United States and the Coalition--acknowledges that a political settlement is imperative. Those who want the U.S. to depart almost at once and those who want to stay as long as necessary to secure the country from chaos should all salute the progress over oil-revenue sharing.
The foes of the invasion said it was all about oil. They were wrong. It was and is about security. But oil is key to that security--within Iraq itself.
Photo: U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad, July 18, 2006. (©AP/WWP)
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