I’ve read elsewhere, and agree, that free elections in Egypt would be won by the Muslim Brotherhood, free elections in Saudi Arabaia would be won by Salafists friendly to Al Qaeda, Hamas we know about, Iran we know about; free elections in Jordan would topple the Hashemite monarchy.

Pakistan has made a separate peace with the Waziri’s (who number about 30 million, are sympatheitic to the Taliban, and disregard the artificial Afghan border which separates them), and we know about Syria and Hezbollah. Michael Yon, for one, sees Afghanistan becoming more like Iraq,and NATO is unprepared to deal with it.

Nothing recommended by two policy wonks like Baker and Hamilton can encompass these realities. Their report will be accepted by the equivocating and gutless entities we call Senators and Reps, of all parties, and rolled out into camo blankets. Today Realpolitik is the policy of fantasists.