"We Support Your Terror War"

Take it from someone who has visited Kazakhstan, Borat has nothing to do with the oil and gas rich country. But he put did make a sly, ironic point when he got the rubes at the rodeo to cheer his boorish character's twisted syntax. The United States has, indeed, created something worse than civil war in Iraq. Its a three way civil war mixed in with armed resistance to an occupying power. Add to that fatal concoction rampant criminal violence. Serve cold to a befuddled superpower boasting the strongest army in the history of humanity but finding itself bogged down in another unpopular foreign war within a generation of the last one. The consequences of losing Iraq are terrifying.

Surprisingly the Pentagon actually produced some succinct advice for their civilian leaders: go big, go long or go home. Going big is not a viable option at this late stage. There is no majority support for the war anymore. Going big after Saddam's statute was pulled down, meaning occupying Iraq with a half million troops including military police and civilian administration specialists, possibly could have worked before the insurgency got organized and funded. The populace might have accepted an occupation if the US proved it was interested in meeting its needs for modern infrastructure and security as well as blue ink democracy. Going big also would cost even larger amount of money and probably mean the reintroducing of the draft. That prospect is less popular than privatizing social security.

Going long is also a non-starter. Staying in Iraq for a protracted length of time, perhaps 10-15 years, assumes a monolithic commitment to creating a functional neocolonial state by both political parties which is non existent. The politicians know they would not last beyond the next election if they attempted to commit to such naked imperialism. The American people are basically not interested in empire. This characteristic is why the Charlatan had to scare the bejesus out of us before Congress let him have his war. "Let's take the oil!" is not a rally cry that will get much response from people in Peoria. Manifest destiny was more acceptable because native Americans and Mexicans were heathen savages, after all.

So we are left with, go home. Good advice from the experts at the Pentagon. Now that Rummyman is history at last perhaps the Charlatan should take their advice and give all of us and the Iraqis a brake. Spend a decent interval training the army and police. There can be no guarantee that those institution will hold together when we leave since they are composed of some who place faction above nation. If the Shia and Sunni want a messy divorce and the Kurds want to leave home, who are we to argue with them? It was their country, you know.