US Honeymoon may be Brief

Many Iraqis may express joy at being free from the terror of Saddam Hussein, but it would be wrong to confuse this joy with support for a US occupation of Iraq. In the coming weeks, the US has hard choices to make and should take care not to allow history to repeat itself. In this editorial, the lead up to the Iraqi invasion is compared to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, with surprising similarities. Notably, both countries are a mixture of ethnic groups that are highly volatile. The US should be careful not to try to engineer elections as Israel did in Lebanon, nor should the US use Iraq for a foothold in which to threaten Iran or Syria. Ultimately, the US should remember what one Lebanese told a former Israeli soldier: “Don’t forget to leave.” –YaleGlobal