Can the U.S. fight economic crisis and three wars at the same time?
Americans tend to look inward when the economy tanks, and the attitude toward this year’s election is no exception. According to the most recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, 53 percent of registered voters rank the economy as the single most important issue affecting their choice for president. The war in Iraq came in a distant third, tied with “honesty in government,” at only 6 percent. When the choice is between our pocketbooks and a distant war fought by a professional military, it’s not a choice. Pocketbooks come first. Americans are now more terrified by toxic mortgages than jihadist terrorists. Unfortunately, while we might not want to pay attention to the mess in the Middle East, the Middle East mess wants to pay attention to us. Despite a decline in violence, the war in Iraq is far from over and most of the surge troops are still there. At the same time, American casualties are rising in Afghanistan—a war that we won a few years ago, but are now losing. Moreover, top U.S. int
