Ally says US must win in Iraq

Washington Times:

An abrupt U.S. pullout from Iraq would have disastrous consequences for the region and could create a haven of terrorists, Bahrain's ambassador to the United States, Naser M.Y. Al Belooshi, warned in an interview yesterday.
The unusually blunt message came from one of the United States' closest allies in the Arab world, one that has long cultivated close ties with Washington and hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
"The biggest risk from our point of view is that America would just pull out before the Iraqis have the ability to defend themselves," Mr. Al Belooshi told editors and reporters at The Washington Times. "Iraq would become a good place for terrorists to use as a base. You have to win this war."
Like Iraq, Bahrain has a Shi'ite Muslim majority that has historically been ruled politically and economically by a Sunni Muslim minority. Moderate Sunni Arab regimes across the region have watched the deteriorating situation in Iraq with growing dismay, fearful that the Shi'ite-Sunni sectarian violence could spread.
Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has pressed for closer ties with the United States while steadily permitting greater democratic freedoms at home.
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The ambassador said the big division in the region is between moderates and extremists of all sects, not between Sunnis and Shi'ites.
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According to Power and Interest News Report, a private intelligence newsletter, "Bahrain wants to show a deep loyalty to the United States because it could claim for itself a role as a strategic partner in the region.
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I suspect others in the region feel the same way, but are not as honest in their public statements. However, it is time for them to have the same courage and step up to the plate on this issue. It is going to take this type of persuasion to stop the Democrat slide toward defeat.