I am just so fed up with all of the talk about the surge and whether or not it worked...and, if it did - to what end!?...about the deadline or time horizon for withdrawal...how Maliki and Obama are in the same boat - the same sinking boat, if you ask me -and even about when the Iraqi government will get its act together and make some moves toward political reconciliation. NONE OF IT MATTERS!!!

Until everyone snaps out of it and realizes that there is no reasonable prospect that a strong central government in Iraq can materialize - now or anytime in the near to medium term - Iraq will continue on a downward spiral toward all out civil war and quite possibly the complete fragmentation of the country along with dangerous and unpredictable consequences for the region, not to mention for US national security interests.

I'd like to know when there will be a serious effort to implement a muscular diplomatic surge to promote and facilitate a sustainable political settlement in Iraq that would bring the warring Iraqi factions to the negotiating table and involve the regional and major powers to support and secure whatever power-sharing arrangement the Iraqis are able to achieve. Absent such action, there is no good reason to keep any US forces or civilians (say good-bye to that monstrosity known as the US embassy in Baghdad) in Iraq past yesterday.

I've always been amazed that Bush hasn't made more political hay out of troops coming out of Iraq. The whole (OK, most of it, to be accurate) "surge" came home, and Bush never had a photo op with some homecoming soldiers. It's almost like they don't want to use this image for some reason.

Elizabeth -

Point taken. But Maliki's backed himself into a corner by leaking all the details during the negotiations. By stirring up the Iraqi people, he now has to make good on what he's been promising them -- a hard deadline for the US to leave.

-CW

Thanks always