As Jules Crittenden offers in his commentary on the Associated Press analysis today appearing to go neo-con, they admit that we have some leverage, and a substantial national interest, at stake in that nascent democracy won with the blood of many thousands of Iraqis and Americans, wedged between Saudi Arabia and Iran: "Stable Iraq could influence the Middle East�:

BAGHDAD (AP) â€" As violence in Iraq recedes, neighboring states are pondering how to deal with an unwieldy country that could re-emerge as a key player along with Saudi Arabia and Iran in one of the world's most strategic regions.

The role of regional power broker may seem far-fetched for Iraq â€" a devastated land best known for car bombs, death squads and suicide attackers.

Still, countries of the Middle East cannot ignore the potential role of a resurgent Iraq, a nation of 28 million people, bordering Iran to the east, Syria and Jordan to the west and sitting on one of the world's major pools of oil.

For those reasons, the United States cannot afford to lose focus on Iraq, which will remain a strategic and important country even after the last of the 140,000 American soldiers have gone home.

Clearly Iraq is a long way from re-establishing itself as a major force in the region. In a first step, however, representatives of 35 international oil companies are to meet this month with Iraq's oil minister in London to discuss improving Iraqi gas and oil fields. Fellow Arab countries are talking about upgrading their relations with Iraq.

And this is the AP saying this. Be sure to read it all....

Then, check out Jules commentary here ...

May could turn out to have been one of the most important months of the war, yet the media coverage has been all but non-existent.

So, unless you read the center-right blogs, when will you learn of the significant progress in Iraq?

You'll know there is significant progress in Iraq when a member of the American media, who like the Democratic Party, have become so invested in American defeat that they have decided to ignore the collapse of their position as Iraq stabilizes - begin to see progress...

Vets for Freedom's ad, featuring Iraq war veteran and Vets for Freedom member, Specialist Kate Norley, challenges B. Hussein Obama over his failure to visit Iraq in over 2 years:

Just one of the subjects Obamamessiah has a lot to comment on but knows so very little about.

Vets for Freedom is a nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their mission is to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in these conflicts by applying our first-hand knowledge to issues of American strategy and tactics in Iraq. They support policymakers from both sides of the aisle who have stood behind our great generation of American warriors on the battlefield, and who have put long-term national security before short-term partisan political gain.

Vets for Freedom is the largest Iraq and Afghanistan veterans organization in America.

Related: McCain on Obama's refusal to go to Iraq (UPDATED)

About 3,500 American soldiers are scheduled to leave Iraq in the coming weeks, announced the U.S. military, as part of the Pentagon’s overall reduction in troop strength following last year’s “surge.” Washington plans to trim its forces in Iraq to about 140,000 Soldiers by the summer — from about 170,000 in October at the height of the troop buildup in Baghdad and surrounding areas….More

In the opinion of CIA Director Michael Hayden, "it is the policy of the Iranian government, approved to the highest level of that government, to facilitate the killing of Americans in Iraq." Clearly, Hayden's assessment is widely shared in the U.S. government, and is very likely correct. Former Iranian president Mohamad Khatami has essentially admitted as much in his surprising criticism his country's leadership yesterday for exporting terror to neighboring countries.

So there is very little doubt that the Iranians are arming and training Iraqi insurgents, and they are in part responsible for the recent rise in U.S. casualties. Last month, 52 U.S. personnel were killed in Iraq, by far the highest total since September 2007. This isn't a revelation.

The US has long claimed the Iranians were training Iraqi militia fighters in Iran, which Iran has consistently denied, and there have been numerous reports about Hezbollah operatives in Iraq. Additionally, Iran's Qods force has provided leadership, weapons, and cash to competing factions in Iraq, fostering and supporting violence in Iraq and the killing of American forces. With Iran so much involved in Iraq's violence and directly responsible for the deaths of Americans, it has been only a matter of time before common sense would begin to rise to a level of conversation about stopping Iran's interference in Iraq's affairs and America's progress in Iraq.

Entering the scene we have John Bolton, America's former ambassador to the United Nations, who is now calling for US air strikes on Iranian camps where insurgents are trained for war in Iraq:

Mr Bolton said that striking Iran would represent a major step towards victory in Iraq. While he acknowledged that the risk of a hostile Iranian response harming American's overseas interests existed, he said the damage inflicted by Tehran would be "far higher" if Washington took no action.

"This is a case where the use of military force against a training camp to show the Iranians we're not going to tolerate this is really the most prudent thing to do," he said. "Then the ball would be in Iran's court to draw the appropriate lesson to stop harming our troops."

Mr Bolton, an influential former member of President George W Bush's inner circle, dismissed as "dead wrong" reported British intelligence conclusions that the US military had overstated the support that Iran was providing to Iraqi fighters.

So, should we "broaden the war" by bombing the Iranian camps? Jay Bookman, writing at The Atlanta Constitution suggests otherwise, offering that "Limited war, with all its frustrations, is sometimes the best option available. But it takes wisdom and patience to appreciate that difficult fact, two traits seldom seen in the current administration." On the other hand, we have Bolton and others suggesting we conduct what amounts to a limited response to what has been a full-blown effort on the part of Iran to kill Americans, disrupt Iraqi progress, cause as much violence and conflict in Iraq as possible, and attempt to expand their influence in the region. Does it make sense to continue sitting on our hands and allow this to continue?

As our title infers, common sense dictates we act sooner rather than later. Talking with Iran has never resulted in anything other than more and more stalling while they continue to do as they damned well please. Enough already, bomb the damned camps - even if it's a step-wise increase, and let Iran know that, finally, there are consequences to their killing Americans. Either way, it's a tough decision. But we actually have no other choice if we are to win the peace in Iraq.

This is coming from the viewpoint of someone who has known war, who has family members who have served multiple tours in Iraq, and would surely rather talk than fight. However, talking with Islamists is nothing less than playing Hudna, their version of stall until they gain the upper hand to kill more of us. Talking has never and will never work with Iran. By playing their game we end up with more dead Americans in Iraq and an Iran with atomic bombs.

Related (Pat Buchanan with an opposing opinion): Is It Jaw-Jaw or War-War?

We hear a lot from the Democrats about the cost of the Iraq war, which according to the CRS Report for Congress (February 2008) is expected to run about $526 billion this year. What we don't hear much about is what Congress costs us each year through years of their liberal programs and policies (with more than a little help from the failure of the Bush administration to protect our borders). Thanks to a poster at Free Republic who has gone to the trouble of coming up with some facts to share and pass around, we can now all have a better perspective to compare the economic cost of illegal immigration programs and policies to the cost of the war in Iraq. These alone are shocking enough.

The title of the piece is a bit misleading because the costs of the war in Iraq do in fact run more. However, the war in Iraq is a necessity because Iraq Is The Central Front Of Al Qaeda's Global Campaign (since they lost free use of Afghanistan) and it is key in fighting radical Islam (read today's AP article, "Al-Qaida No. 2 says group still targeting the West). However, the illegal aliens in our country are not only not a necessity, they are uninvited, unwanted, harmful to our country, and a exponentially (in a practical sense) growing economic drain. (I have not checked the quality of all the links below, but those that I have do appear relevant.)

[...] WHAT COSTS MORE PER YEAR THAN THE IRAQ WAR! (HT "Buggy02" at FR)

I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I have included the URL's for verification of the following facts: This should be one of the top three major issues in this year's Presidential (war, illegal immigration, economy/recession).

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year.

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English!

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.

6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.

7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare and Social Services by the American taxpayers.

9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two-and-a-half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US.

11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border. (Homeland Security Report).

12. The National Policy Institute, "estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period."

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin.

14. "The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States".

Total cost is a whooping... $338.3 BILLION A YEAR!!!

[...] Social Security Change For 2008

The United States Senate voted to extend Social Security Benefits to Illegal Aliens beginning in 2008.

Now, the following are the senators who voted to give illegal aliens Social Security benefits. They are grouped by home state. If a state is not listed, there was no voting representative. You will notice that of those that voted 38 were Democrats and 11 Republicans. All of the Senators that are running for President in 2008 voted for this change. Don't make one to optimistic about the future of America, does it?

Alaska: Stevens (R)

Arizona : McCain (R)

Arkansas : Lincoln (D) Pryor (D)

California : Boxer (D) Feinstein (D)

Colorado : Salazar (D)

Connecticut : Dodd (D) Lieberman (D)

Delaware : Biden (D) Carper (D)

Florida : Martinez (R)

Hawaii : Akaka (D) Inouye (D)

Illinois : Durbin (D) Obama (D)

Indiana : Bayh (D) Lugar (R)

Iowa : Harkin (D)

Kansas : Brownback (R)

Louisiana : Landrieu (D)

Maryland : Mikulski (D) Sarbanes (D)

Massachusetts : Kennedy (D) Kerry (D)

Montana : Baucus (D)

Nebraska : Hagel (R)

Nevada : Reid (D)

New Jersey : Lautenberg (D) Menendez (D)

New Mexico : Bingaman (D)

New York : Clinton (D) Schumer (D)

North Dakota : Dorgan (D)

Ohio : DeWine (R) Voinovich (R)

Oregon : Wyden (D)

Pennsylvania : Specter (R)

Rhode Island : Chafee (R) Reed (D)

South Carolina : Graham (R)

South Dakota : Johnson (D)

Vermont : Jeffords (I) Leahy (D)

Washington : Cantwell (D) Murray (D)

West Virginia : Rockefeller (D), by Not Voting

Wisconsin : Feingold (D) Kohl (D)

SEND THIS TO ALL YOU KNOW. THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION, UNLESS THEY DON'T MIND SHARING THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY WITH FOREIGN WORKERS who didn't pay a dime.

The US military says a roadside bomb hit one of its convoys in the southern city of Basra, causing casualties. The military gave no further details. AP Television News footage from Basra on Monday showed smoke rising from a vehicle burning on a highway overpass. US troops and Humvees blocked access to the scene. (AP)

IRBIL, April 21 (KUNA) — An explosion Monday targeted and killed a member of the National Relations Bureau’s Kirkuk Office in the aviation square area, Iraqi Police sources said.
The sources added unidentified gunmen had also today shot dead Captain Mohammad Saeed Khalil in front of his home.
The captain worked with the Sleiman Pek district Police Station in southern Kirkuk.

BAGHDAD, April 21 (KUNA) — Multi-National Division (MND) soldiers in Baghdad killed 17 militants in separate missions, a statement said Monday.
An MND statement here said soldiers killed 12 militants in two separate incidents in Al-Adhamiya, while five others were killed in Sadr city as they were transporting weapons in the city.
The MND also unveiled that a mortar shell was launched by militants targeting Al-Khathimiya area, killing one and injuring eight others.
Meanwhile, a bomb exploded in the same neighborhood as a US patrol car was passing by, causing the death of a civilian and the injury of three others.
The same statement accused groups supported by Iran of carrying out attacks in the country

Reported by Akhbar al-Khaleej [confirmed by al-Ghad], source from the Iraqi interior Ministry said that instruction issued from the Iraqi Islamic Council [Revolution] led by al-Hakim to the all Badr Brigades head quarters to hide all their heavy weapons such as mortars and R,B.G in secret places for the fair of sudden raids from the American occupation forces in a plan aimed to disarm the militias namely Mahdi Army, leaders of the Badr Brigades working as high rank officers in the Interior Ministry are cooperating to find proper places to hide these weapons, also from the same source, leaders of the BB are fled the country to Iran temporarily waiting after the end of the disarmament campaign.

http://www.roadstoiraq.com