I am getting the distinct impression that neither President Obama nor Vice President Biden seem eager enough to demonstrate some bold leadership and do more than nudge the Iraqis onto the path toward national political reconciliation.

This is not going to be easy - it never was. The political landscape in Iraq is fragmented beyond belief and the current government is corrupt and holds no legitimacy with the Iraqi people. And, there is little or no trust between Iraqis or in their current government.

Only bold US leadership will have the heft necessary to bring all Iraqis together - and I mean all Iraqis...those inside and outside of the current government, those who have been willing to talk political reconciliation under the yolk of foreign occupation and those who have had no inclination to do so, secularists and Islamists, a representative cross-section of the Iraqi population.

So far, the Obama-Biden administration has not demonstrated that they are willing to withdraw US forces or call an international conference to promote a sustainable political agreement between all of the players in Iraq. We are now six months into this new administration and nothing substantive has happened with respect to a withdrawal of US forces as per the June 30 deadline or on the political and constitutional reform front.

I'm thinking if it hasn't begun to happen by now, it's not going to get any easier down the road and certainly not once we get into another (US) election cycle, which may have already begun!

We can only hope that we don't have to see a return to the vicious and self-sustaining cycle of sectarian violence before we see real movement on the diplomatic and political front - God knows the Iraqi people haven't asked for it and don't deserve it and, by then, it may be too late to solve this crisis.

The Vice President's current trip to Iraq will shed a great deal of light on that subject as there is no one better positioned than VP Biden to assess the capacity and inclination of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's government to make the political and constitutional compromises that will be necessary to reach a sustainable political settlement.

If Biden finds that the Iraqi government is serious about wanting to move toward national and sustainable political reconciliation, then I would expect to see President Obama working closely with the Iraqi government along with the regional and major powers and the UN to move this process forward. Under such conditions, we could expect to see a substanial further withdrawal of US forces from Iraq within the next year.

However, if Biden determines that the Iraqi government is not serious about political and constitutional reform, then there is no reason to keep US forces in Iraq any longer and I would hope that the Iraqi government would be advised, in no uncertain terms, that there would be a hastened withdrawal of US forces - and civilians, for that matter - and a new strategy of containment would become the order of the day.

Just like he had to do when he claimed that there really wasn't any difference between Achmedjihadist and Mousavi in Iran.

Michale....

Ya gotta love ol' Harry. He is the GOP gift that keeps on giving and giving.

I am also constrained to point out that President Obama is navigating the EXACT course I predicted he would take. IE Give lip service to pulling out in Iraq, but pretty much do things as the Bush Administration would have done.

Same with Gitmo.. Wanna lay down some quatloos that this time next year, Gitmo will STILL be holding the worst of the worst?? I'll even dress up again as Galt (or maybe Shaanna?? :D hehehehehe) if I lose... OK, I know that THAT particular mental picture just HAD to be disturbing.. My apologies. :D

But getting back to Iraq. I think we are going to find that, as time moves on, our forces will be drawn back into the cities and enclaves of Iraq time and time again.

A lot of that will depend on what happens in Iran.

Speaking of Iran, it seems that Obama is really earning the WIMP label. Iran's leaders are flipping Obama the bird, North Korea is all but DARING Obama to do something (ANYTHING!!) about missiles and nukes and illegal weapons shipments. And now we have Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and President Obama in a three-way (another disturbing mental picture) over Honduras...

I tell ya, Team Obama is taking some pretty big lumps these last weeks.

Where is the assertive and ballsy President Obama that gave the.....

"It's a GO!! TAKE EM DOWN!!
-Lee Marvin, THE DELTA FORCE

... order to take out the Somalia pirates???

Time will tell if Obama get's his groove back..

Michale.....