How United Is Iraq's Unity Government?

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How United Is Iraq's Unity Government? ()

Iraq's unity government is facing a political crisis. Last week, six ministers resigned, and today five more declared a "boycott" of meetings. That leaves no active Sunnis in Prime Minister al-Maliki's cabinet. Feisal Istrabadi, Iraq's Ambassador to the UN, concedes that the al-Maliki government is not providing basic services—water, power and sewage, but claims that the Prime Minister's political problems are growing pains much like those of the early United States.

Guests:

• Leon Panetta: Member of the Iraq Study Group
• Peter Galbraith: Senior Diplomatic Fellow, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
• Juan Cole: Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Michigan

Links:

• Iraq Study Group
• Galbraith's 'The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War without End'
• O'Hanlon/Pollack op-ed on US success in Iraq

Reporter's Notebook

Is the Costly Iraq War Endangering US Safety at Home? ()

One of America's major financiers says that spending on the war in Iraq could make America more vulnerable, rather than safer. Robert Hormats is Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs International. His new book, The Price of Liberty: Paying for America's Wars, argues that President Bush is ignoring George Washington, who warned against passing the cost of war onto future generations. He also sites Dwight Eisenhower, who said, "The problem with defense spending is to figure how far you should go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without."

Guests:

• Robert Hormats: Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs International