Its time to speak truth to power. After 9/11 Bush announced,"if you harbor a terrorist, you are a terrorist." He then proceeded to go after the Taliban. Unfortunately, the overthrow of the Taliban proved the exception, not the rule. Bush did get rid of Sadam but he did not use the Iraqi tyrant's long history of harboring terrorists to justify his overthrow. Had he done so, American credibility would not have suffered the beating it did.

Moreover, since the beginning of the Iraqi insurgency, the administration (and most specifically the army) has been involved in a deliberate cover-up of the extend to which neighboring states are harboring and aiding that insurgency. Until very recently, each time the issue came up, American generals rushed to deny the importance of the foreign component while American officials issues empty threats. Such threats only emboldened the neighboring tyrants and their allies (Chiraq, Schroeder, Putin, etc.,) to undermine the American efforts to rebuild Iraq in order to demonstrate to their people the downside of American sponsored freedom.

Consequently, the absence of a rival superpower not withstanding, the US follows a strategy even more conservative than the one it followed in Vietnam. Syria which harbors terrorists is not only safe from regime change a la Iraq but even from American bombing. The same is true about Iran whose citizens (like those in the PA) showed their contempt to empty Western promises and threats by electing an honest Jihadist in hope that he will at least fill the potholes rather than his own pocket.

As for Iraqis, they are told that they will have to put down the insurgency following the same rules which failed the American army. A ridiculous expectation!

To add insult to injury, American officials are undermining the Iraqi government by negotiating under fire with Iraqi Sunni Jihadists thereby proving to those faint heartened Sunnis who are sorry for failing to participate in the elections that the Jihadists were right all along. Finally, Rice seeks to reward the Wahabi Saudis who have yet to recognize Israel's right to exist and whose citizens are responsible for more than 40% of the suicide bomber in Iraq by making them members of an expanded Middle East quartet.

The American people are no fools. They know a failing strategy when they see one and speeches can do much but they cannot cover up the realities of war.