The "51st Star": I have to admit, I missed reading Thomas Friedman. He is an astute politcal observer with the common man's touch. But the war made him hard to read until lately. His latest article is a worthwhile read. Like it or not, those of us who were against the war have to admit that we are in Iraq to stay and stay we must. We can't leave now because Iraq is now a vacumn and to leave would be to cede it Islamic fundies or make it the new breeding ground for terrorist groups like Al Queda. The question is how to make it a functioning society. As Friedman says, we need to come up with an alternative to the policy that the neocons have. But we need to admit, we lost and not find ways to win the peace, because the neocons have no idea how to do that.