What a disaster.  The idiocy and staggering ignorance of going into Iraq initially is something that will be analyzed and studied for generations to come, so there is no point hashing over it here.  The time has come, however, to say goodbye.  Earlier my feeling was that once you’ve created a horrific mess, it is reprehensible to compound the injustice by simply walking away.

 

But looking at the civil war in Iraq – rooted in centuries old rivalries and hatreds that no one wants to change – there is simply no end game.  Shia hates Sunni hates Kurd and each wants to rule their own universe.  And so, buh bye!  I have heard many on the right (you know, the geniuses who wanted in this mess) claim that "Iran will fill the void".  Well, that’s fine.  That is what has been happening ever since the first day Iraq was artificially glued together following the fall of the Ottoman empire.  Iranian Shia forces will move in, the Sunni majority will rise against them, a strong man will emerge, and Iraq will be glued back together under the iron fist of a dictator.

 

The only other option is for it to be torn apart (as it should be really) into three states.  Unfortunately Turkey has no interest in battling Kurdish separatists who will want to use part of Turkey to form a Kurdistan, and the rest of the world would probably prefer to not expand the borders of Iran.  Hence we are left with either a permanent war zone or a new dictatorship.  Ill take the latter, thanks.  If the various factions of Islam ever decide they want democracy, they can figure out how to make it happen on their own.  There have been plenty of examples.  In the meantime, whoever is in control will be more than happy to keep selling oil.  You can always count on greed to beat ideology.