The Iraqis Hate Us; That Means We're Winning

A Washington Post article earlier this week on Iraq notes-

Iraqis of all sectarian and ethnic groups believe that the U.S. military invasion is the primary root of the violent differences among them, and see the departure of "occupying forces" as the key to national reconciliation, according to focus groups conducted for the U.S. military last month...

Yikes, that sounds like bad news! Oh wait, the next paragraph reads-

...That is good news, according to a military analysis of the results. At the very least, analysts optimistically concluded, the findings indicate that Iraqis hold some "shared beliefs" that may eventually allow them to surmount the divisions that have led to a civil war.

It's "good news" that the warring Iraqi factions hold the "shared belief" that the occupying U.S. army is evil and needs to leave their country? That is some Colbert-quality stuff (and I thought the writers were on strike!).

This, to me, again illustrates that-- 5 years in-- we still have no strategy or long-term plan... we're just bouncing from one idea to the next ('shock and awe' to 'mission accomplished' to 'stay the course' to 'surge'), some less disastrous than others, but all with no final act or realistic assessment of cost (in lives, money, missed opportunities).

Let's review. We invaded their country, which pissed the Iraqis off, which is good because the (current) goal of our occupation is to make them all get along, which they can't because our occupation is a divisive force. So, in response, we stay, and start building permanent bases, and continue to try and pacify the country by going neighborhood to neighborhood, turning each town into a sealed-off garrison town along the way, until either the country is properly worn down or our military breaks down. Then... Victory!

There are very serious people running our country. You're unpatriotic to think otherwise.