■"Magnet for Iraq Is Test for U.S. Strategy," by Richard A. Oppel, Jr., New York Times, 16 June 2005, p. A1.\

■"Uncle Sam Really Wants You: Army recruiters invade the schools," op-ed by Bob Herbert, New York Times, 16 June 2005, p. A29.

■"Iran Said to Admit Tests on Path to Atom Arms: Agency Report Suggests Hiding of Attempt to Create Plutonium," by Richard Bernstein, New York Times, 16 June 2005, p. A12.

■"Not Our Man in Iran: Why do we want Rafsanjani back?," op-ed by Danielle Pletka, New York Times, 16 June 2005, p. A29.

The U.S. finds itself retaking cities again and again. The pattern of win the mini-war and lose the mini-peace is a microcosm of our entire experience there.

And it is wearing on the morale of the troops. And it is hurting recruiting. And it is costing the U.S. military more than it knows in public support.

There is an ally we need to create in the region and it's name is Iran. Like Nixon's Doctrine of decades before, we need to tap into a regional pillar whose interests, once the old hatreds are put aside, are amazingly similar to our own.

Iran gets the bomb. The strip tease we watch today means only that Tehran is signaling throughout this process. It is signaling the price.

Rafsanjani will not give up the bomb, but he will give up the revolution for a price. His price is worth paying. Lives will be spared. The Big Bang will gain speed. America will get its happy ending to this chapter in the Global War on Terror.

It is time to move on. It is time to turn enemies into solutions.