"The President has accepted ethnic cleansing."

One war begets another, without a learning curve. I'm afraid you are right. I don't think Vietnam was a tactical mistake. It was an outright refusal to support the Vietnamese independence movement to escape the slavery of France and international capitalists who produced rubber there. Ho Chi Minh so admired America that he patterned the Vietnamese declaration of independence after ours and he tried for years to gain our support. When we refused, he swore that they would fight us as long as it took to win their freedom. It didn't have to be that way.

Exactly Gerry!!!! America kept ignorant by its public education system. Keep the h\kids looking the other direction. Clark another good post. Iraq is not a naturally formed country and it shows. Another post colonial mess.

Unification in Iraq is not only possible, but Likely, if the unification is accomplished under a federal system. There are 18 provinces in Iraq, and recognizing them as autonomous, with a central government dedicated to internal freedom of movement and trade, and protection from external threat to each and every one is the rational solution. It is also the middle ground that demands compromise. It is also the original model of the United States. And it just seems to work very well.

Great article, great comments.

Dubya now understands that he won't be able to loot the oil from a united Iraq. He'll have to do it piecemeal, which is why his dear buddy Hunt negotiated a contract with the Kurds.

Karl Iraq has only existed with the repression of one or more minorities. The desire for sectarian acendancy far outweighs whatever constitutes "Iraq." Unification is a fantasy.

Iraq is basically a tribal society and has been so for over a 1000 years.The Ottomans, the British and Saddam couldn't change that. The power rests with the tribes. Many tribes mixed Shia and Sunni because of intermarriage. It has broken up into communities and militia-dominated regions because of the collapse of central government. But I doubt 1 in 10 Iraqis , except perhaps a majority of the Kurds do not have a sense of being one nation and people . The Sunnis , with the material support of Saudi Arabia will resist a Shia-dominated government in Baghdad. We can't prevent that or sort it out by staying. The neighbors can help contain the civil war by not fueling it and pushing for the factions to come to terms.Partition won't work, although it may be tried for a time.

The increasing incidence of death by cholera should aid in that regard...

aahhh ... the first of more to come ... plagues to assist the warmongers in the killing.

Iran has been seeking ways to negotiate with the US for many years, while the US has been trying to pressure other nations not to trade with Iran and also the UN to apply sanctions.

The US moral responsibility as invaders and occupiers of Iraq is wok to provide a secure , state. Our presence in Iraq has become an obstacle to doing that. 90% or more of the attacks are against the Americans. Our efforts to train Iraqis in the country and to further reconstruction haven't worked.

The US best interests in dealing with its occupation of Iraq coincide with Iran's best interests regarding Iraq, that is having a stable , representative government in Baghdad. Since about 75% of the Kurd's trade is with Iran and the rest of Iraq is dependent on Iran for commerce , the visit of over a million pilgrims a year from Iran and technological assistance for reconstruction (Iran supplies electricity to parts of Iraq now), the US policy is damaging to Iraq's future.