J. McCutchen

The Iraqi Parliament just blew up and another bomb sent a major bridge and several cars into the Tigris

"I fully expect the enemy to try to orchestrate more spectacular attacks, such as rocketing the Green Zone and other acts, which would understandably grab the attention and the headlines in the United States, because they realize that if they can erode the American public's will, then they would be able to achieve success..But I don't think that that should change the larger picture which means we're achieving some small successes already with the strategy being employed,"

John McCain

Post traumatic stress disordered*

*I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night

Start a phased withdrawal of the troops immediately and the only change concerning the USA will be our troops stop dying and getting maimed for life, we stop throwing $8 billion a month down a rat hole, and we stop the grand theft of American tax dollars.

Let them fight it out among themselves....or.....join the "always wrong on Iraq gang", the "6 more monthers"...and stay and die.

It isn’t really about John McCain, is it? McCain has simply cornered himself politically and has no option but to support the surge (the only game in town conidering his pro-war position). I think Biden just used his op-ed to make a case for a loose federal system, which many have been claiming as the only feasible solution since the constitution was forced on Iraq. I have never been convinced that a partition would lead to greater regional conflict. So what if Turkey or the Saudis don’t like it. They are not going to like what happens if it isn’t done. The Sunnis may be afraid of losing out in the deal but oil revenues and local power can be negotiated and they too should fear the alternative more (all out civil war).

One has to be suspicious of the administration’s motives for not considering any realistic exit strategy. We gave Iran a cohort when we invaded and nothing we do will change that. I may be wearing my tin foil hat, but withdrawing our troops also takes away opportunities for attacking Iran since our forces would not be poised on their border and there would be no incidences of Iranian involvement in attacking our troops to prompt retaliation.

Recognize 'facts on the ground'

1. The Kurds already have their own flag. They already are calling themselves Kurdistan. They like the US and there are no insurgents and security problem there.

Build on the stability/success of Kurds by crerting something similar for the south of the country for Shiites.

McCain shares Bush's pathology of "not losing" at any costs. His seemingly masochistic stance is based on a personal sense of being a good soldier, while Bush is tied to a much more arrogant, sadistic, selfish, ruling class sense of entitlement. He is a 'king' with a right to poor people's son's lives and limbs. He thinks he has every right to throw soldiers on the fire to protect his noble legacy.

McCain's throwing himself on the fire as a noble gesture. I believe he's feeling his mortality. Listen to his speeches - his voice sounds old and haggard. He's in his twilight and wants to go down as a 'winner' and not a victim of America's enemies as he was in Vietnam.

McCain desperately needs to maintain the war for the maintenance of his psyche.

Or we help Iraq make the transition to a decentralized, federal system, as called for in its constitution, where each major group has local control over the fabric of its daily life, including security, education, religion and marriage.

Making federalism work for all Iraqis is a strategy that can still succeed and allow our troops to leave responsibly. It's a strategy I have been promoting for a year.

Hmmmm. Will federalism work?

Nah. The Kurds don't want Federalism, they want their own country!

The Shiites don't want Federalism. They want it all!!!

The Kurds won't get it, they're landlocked and screwed.

The Shiites have 65% of the population, and they've got powerful allies. They'll get it.

On April 12, 2007 - 11:23am jhaber said:

It would seem that Biden's solution is to order everyone to come to terms. That's not unlike what we've been doing for years, and it's mere rhetoric.

Exactly, we have no power/authority to get these three to agree to anything, each has their own interests and Bush has his.

Our choices in Iraq are either leave or stay indefinitely. Any caveats to pulling out are simply saying that if we pull out, things that are already happening in Iraq will happen in Iraq.

What do we do when they start fighting over who owns Kirkuk?

Shiites have Iran, but Sunis have Syria. A majority doesn't necessarily mean power either. Look at Ruwanda.

"Sunis have Syria"

Uhm, first things first: So what? Syria has no oil, no substantial economic or political resources, no significant allies, no nothing. Who cares about Syria?

Secondly: Syria is majority Sunni, but its ruled by the Allawites, who are a Shiite minority population.

Third: The Shiites are 65% of Iraq.

Fourth: The Shiites have Iran? Both in terms of a political government that is a Shiite theocracy, and a majority (90%) Shiite community. The Shiite Iranians also have 70 million people, gajillion barrels of oil and natural gas, a long border with Iraq and half the Persian gulf coastline.

Fifth: Saudi Arabia is Sunni, except for the part with the oil, which is where the Shiite minority is. Saudi Arabia has 30 million people and its an unstable monarchy.

Bad news all day long.

A brief review here.

"Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Thomas Jefferson