The Leaders US: All the best of the US editorial pages, all in one place.
US troops are exiting combat operations in Iraq, leaving Iraqi soldiers in charge. Photo Credit: United States Army
The Washington Post Iraqis need promises of post-war commitments from the US
US combat operations in Iraq are drawing to a close but the US must remain engaged in its alliance with the Middle Eastern country urged The Washington Post, which argued that the immediate “focus must be on encouraging Iraqi politicians to form an inclusive government – that is, a government that represents Iraq’s Kurdish and Sunni Arab minorities as well as the Shiite Arab majority.” The paper played up the huge strategic regional advantages of continuing to foster a more democratic Iraq, and warned the US not to turn off the tap suddenly: “Congress should recognize that shortchanging aid, consulates and other tools of US engagement would foolishly risk the enormous investment Americans have made in Iraq’s future.”
The Boston Herald Changing of the banner
The US may be packing up to leave but Iraq remains in a mess according to The Boston Herald. The paper poked fun at Operation New Dawn and noted that “It’s (Vice President) Biden’s thankless job to try to knock some heads while he’s in town, to convince rivals that it is in their mutual interest to form a government even while insurgents make the most of the political disarray, lobbing mortars into the Green Zone.” All US troops are scheduled to be out of Iraq by 2011, at which point “presumably Operation New Dawn gets renamed Operation No Longer Our Problem,” quipped The Herald.
The New York Times New chance for peace
President Obama’s commitment to peace in the Middle East is the biggest boost to the prospects of progress being made at the Israeli-Palestinian talks on a two-state solution, which are due to start on Thursday said The New York Times. The paper detected “positive currents” flowing in favour of the first talks in twenty months including a slowing of Israeli settlement building, and improved security in Palestine. But noted “serious obstacles” – the most obvious being the “deep distrust between the parties.” “Pessimism about these talks is understandable given the depressing history of failed peace attempts,” said The Times, “but it is no excuse for the leaders not to make a serious effort, and Mr. Obama is right to try to compel them to do that.”
USA Today Should being born in the USA make you a US citizen?
Repealing the 14th Amendment of the Constitution to end automatic birthright citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants is both unworkable (“amending the Constitution is difficult to do”) and entirely misses the point, argued USA Today. “The real ways to fight illegal immigration are the same as they’ve always been: Tighten the border. Make it harder for immigrants to work here illegally. Fix the E-Verify system that lets employers check whether job applicants are here legally. Set up a temporary worker system. And establish a path to legality for undocumented aliens already here who pay taxes and stay out of trouble,” advised the paper.
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