Michael Rubin succinctly indicates what went wrong in Iraq and why, to judge from early indications, the Baker approach will not improve things.


Iraq‘s transformation was undercut by naive faith, not in democracy but rather in diplomacy. Instead of securing

Iraq‘s borders, the Bush administration accepted Syrian and Iranian pledges of non-interference. They believed the canard that
Iraq‘s neighbors sought a stable, secure

Iraq. Both countries exploited

U.S. trust.