Opinion: In today’s pages: Urinals in the home, ‘South Park’ on the web
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Columnist Rosa Brooks suggests we succeed in Iraq by withdrawing:
The honest (though not very satisfying) answer is that no one really knows what will happen in Iraq after the United States leaves. Interestingly, a poll in March found that a majority of Iraqis thought the security situation would improve immediately after a U.S. withdrawal. But things could also get worse -- and anyone who claims to have a crystal ball is lying.We long ago squandered any capacity to guarantee a happy ending for the Iraqis. But, as several other recent Center for American Progress reports suggest, there are still steps we can take to minimize the chance that a U.S. withdrawal will make things worse for them.
Contributing editor Ian Buruma notes that Asians freed Asia, contrary to Bush rhetoric. Peruvian playwright Alonso Alegría points out how politics has intruded on quake relief efforts in his country. And columnist Joel Stein dreams the impossible dream -- of a home urinal.
The editorial board says long waits on death row don’t justify sped-up executions. The board also examines the Bush administration’s loosening of mining regulations, and Viacom’s attempt to rebrand ‘South Park’ through the web.
Readers respond to Tamar Jacoby’s fears that new immigration rules will hurt the economy. Irving Moskovitz of Pacific Palisades says, ‘I guess the Confederacy was right. Without slavery, the entire agricultural (and industrial) economy will collapse.’