Kicking Open the Gates of Hell

Mike Whitney
The prospect of an American defeat in Iraq grows greater with every passing day. A memo which was leaked to the Washington Post depicts a situation on the ground which is steadily deteriorating into chaos. The memo, which was written by Iraqi ambassador Zalmay Khalizad, contrasts dramatically with the confident "happy talk" of high-ranking officials in the Bush administration. It offers a bleak "insiders-view" of a society that is progressively crumbling from the nonstop violence and lack of security. President Bush’s surprise appearance in Baghdad was supposed to shore up support for the flagging mission in Iraq, but according to the memo, even the Green Zone, that one safe-haven in an ocean of resistance, could come under attack in the very near future...