Sorry but I don't see anything to gain by sticking around in Iraq. We should help those that want to leave get out and let the rest of them go at it. It is inevitable that Iraq will split into 3 states. The real battle is going to be over the country's oil so no matter what we do to establish peace as soon as we leave the fighting will continue. This war is a horrendous blunder that only the Iraqi’s can finish. The only way the U.S. can win in the Middle East is to start an all out technology war on oil.

I regretfully submit a vote of "no confidence" in my country's government.

How com you all hate Prezident Bush? He is the greatest thing to happen to our country! He is our king, and is saving us. You heathens should just leave and go to canadia. I am sad to be here on this great american soile with you.

Dave Davenport: You're partly correct. The war in Iraq is a mess. But our staying only prolongs the sectarian violence and postpones the inevitable: a full-blown civil war which will eventually result in some form of stability. In other words, the sooner we leave, the sooner Iraq will reach a modicum of peace.

Also, I agree we may face a problem if Islamists manage to take over Pakistan, but we face NOTHING with Iran. If we pre-emptively go to war there, the US alone will be the cause of the next world war. Iran and its nuclear ambitions pose no threat to us, as a nuclear attack on Iran's part against Israel or the US would be suicide. Iran's leaders know that, which is why--as Abizaid said--we can "live" with a nuclear Iran.

"...and cannot pull out and leave them to their own devices. It would be immoral for us to do so, and a serious startegic mistake."

Dave, while I understand why you make that statement, it indicates you really don't understand the conflict between the Sunni and Shia that drives everything. Before you go branding the Shia in Iran as fascists, it would help if you study the map.

Iran, which is predominately Shia, is surrounded by Aghanistan,Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and so on. ALL of those countries are predominately Sunni. And trust me, they'd just as soon destroy Iran as look at them. When we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, the Iranians were probably rooting for us because we destroyed their 2 biggest enemies...the Taliban and Saddam Hussein. Plus, they knew the instability that would occur and they could take advantage of that. The Bush Administration sees that as "meddling", which is as they would see it. But to the Iranians and all the Sunni monarchs and dictators in those countries, Iraq is about who is going to get a foothold and become a greater regional power (Iran) or maintain their regional power base (the Saudis, etc.)

is this supposed to be news? Have the people posting here just now figured out that a lot of Iraqies are corrupt? Just maybe it has somthing to do with living under a corrupt and ruthless dictator called Saddam. They dont think like normal people, they are in it for them selves, of course come to think of it a lot of the people on this site are the same way. Its all about me.

"Classified" - no anywhere near classified. Of course the press doesn't know any different (ignorant writers who do very little research today...).

The documents get classified from the very first inception of writing such a document, it is classified BEFORE it is even written, not vice versa. You don't disclose name, people, location, etc. etc. If they did, it was written by some kid without any prior experience, or some idiot upper (which is usually the case). As far as corruption goes? Its been that way for millenia, do you think we'd change it in 5 years?

-bix

Ryan, thanks for the geographical report. It still amazes me that we are abroad, miles and miles away from these countries in many ways - what are we doing over there? What was our primary goal?

The only thing this report indicates to me is there are more similarities than differences with many other governments including ours. We just hide it better.

I have always believed that to be in Washington you have to have a thread of insanity.

It's a mess in Iraq! Nothing is going to happen overnight.

Oops! They let the truth slip out. And we all know how little the Bushies like for the American people to hear or see the actual truth.

When you think about it, we can't seem to reign in our own corrupt government officials so how in the world do we expect to do it in Iraq.
Man! I want my money back!

It's better to waste trillions there than here. Either you're with us or against us. If you don't support us throwing away hundreds of billions to Iraqi officials, you don't support our troops!

Boy, got you guys fired up didn"t I?
While I'm well aware of the Sunni presence in the region and the fact that there is no love lost between them and Iran, these countries have neither the resources, nor the will to take on Iran if it were to come to that (let alone the fact that the countries mentioned have their own issues with Sunni Islamofascism). I am not advocating any kind of pre-emptive attack on Iran either. I'm merely emphasiszing the fact that because of this stupid war, Iran is motivated to play an agressive role in the region, particularly Israel, because they know that US resources are depleted and we would have a difficult time repelling any kind of attack they might mount unless we used first strike nuclear weapons to deter them. That's all we have right now besides airpower. We're used up. Iran wants Iraq, plain and simple, and there will be no civil war (actually that's what it's been) after we pull out. Iran will take over. Perhaps not overtly, but with a Shite majority in Iraq, they will own Iraq.
As for branding the Iranian Shia, "fascists", I was referring to the ruling theocracy and their thugs. Maybe it's a misnomer to call a theocracy "fascist", I don't know, but the Iranian Shite theocracy has a similar view of their destiny as does the Sunni based Taliban and Al Qaeda in all of their derivitives. That is, they want to rule the world! End of story. Rule the world dude! We're going to have to fight them sometime, somehow. We have to maintain some sort of presence in Iraq now that we have stirred the hornets nest. I'm not saying it's right. I don't agree with this friggin' mess either. I'm a child of the sixties and I spent a lot of time protesting the Vietnam war which was us supporting a corrupt government like the Shite led Iraqi govt. (although I don"t think it would be much different if it was Sunni led)
We made the same mistakes there in trying to allow the So. Vietnamese Govt. to be self determining. It just doesn"t work. There will be continued sectarian violence regardless of whether we pull out or not. I think our moral obligation now is to stay and prevent this thing from turning into a full blown conflagration against all of the innocent Iraqis (Shia and Sunni Kurds, whatever) that put into this postion by our own corrupt govt. that we as a nation elected. Whether you voted for the idiot or not we're all in this together. We have to make it right. One way or another, We're screwed.

It's better to waste trillions there than here. Either you're with us or against us. If you don't support us throwing away hundreds of billions to Iraqi officials, you don't support our troops!

goodness, the iraqis learn from the americans fast!! corrupt officals already? wow. why do we complain, we invented them.

I've said it all along: Until the Iraqi government is functional, there will never be stability, let alone peace. It appears to be far from functional. Despite the naysayers who think America has to stay there until 'victory' (whatever the hell that means), American troops should be used as a carrot and the threat of removing them the stick. If the Iraqis can't meet benchmarks in creating a stable, functional government, America should pull out completely. Here's how it works:

We set a deadline for various benchmarks. At that deadline, we evaluate the progress and add time to how long American military support will stay in the country. The more progress, the more time we will stay. The less progress, the less time. Regardless of the progress, we leave one year from the benchmark evaluation date at most. That's simple enough for anyone to understand and certainly long enough for them to get their act together.

I remember being on a visit to Gettysburg when the American idiot started this war. All the vets there were so happy that we were going after the "ones who attacked us on 9/11". I said to my son that we would win the war, but not the peace. I wonder what my son and his friends who are serving in Iraq will say and how they will feel when they read this account of corruption that they know exists. It is not like they do not have internet access. All those mercaneries and the politians that own their companies are the only ones making out. As usual, a rich man's war.....a poor man's fight. General Smedley Butler could not have said it better, "War is a racket."

"...and there will be no civil war (actually that's what it's been) after we pull out. Iran will take over. Perhaps not overtly, but with a Shite majority in Iraq, they will own Iraq."

Dave...ABC edited my initial post so I'll try to be less verbose! Maybe they won't cut out everything I say this time.

You're right, it has been a civil war and will continue to be one when we pull out. However, if you think the Sunni states will allow Iran to have complete hegemony in Iraq, you are mistaken. First, Iran doesn't want to "take over" Iraq but simply have a government there who is friendly to them (Remember Saddam and the Iraq/Iran war?). The Iraqi Shia may be Shia like the Iranians but they are ARABS, not Persians (like the Iranians). The Iraqi Shia want a friendly and good relationship with Iran but they do NOT want Iran meddling in their internal affairs. After all, THEY have to live with the Iraqi Sunni! And while the Iraqi Shia would just as soon be in complete control, they know the Sunni states will constantly back insurgency until the Iraqi Sunni are back in control. Hence, some compromise will have to be reached.

But NONE of this can happen until the US leaves. We are trying to operate over there as if we're dealing with a power struggle. It is but it's surrounded by hatred that goes back a thousand years, absolute rulers who want to stay in power, and is wrapped in that most precious commodity, oil.

And really, you need to quit listening to what Ahmedinejad says. Like Kim Jong Il, he's nothing more than a blowhard who craves power. But the Iranian theocracy is much more sophisticated politically than you think. They're like most religious organizations...they top may be "religious" but the guys at the top are all about power and keeping control, regardless of religion. Ahmednejad makes all sorts of outlandish statements because 1) he knows how the world media will spotlight his statements, and 2) it scares the oil markets and raises the price of oil. In other words, he's pure self interest. His threats to Israel, etc. are heartfelt probably but he knows he can't carry it out. As I said in my first post (and it was cut) that Al Qaida and the Taliban are extremists that, like all extremists, really influence very few. What IS common belief among them and the rest of the Arab world (the people that is...not the governments) is they want the US out of the Middle East. And if it wasn't for oil, we would be.

You and I both grew up in the sixties but you have to learn to look at the world from more than just a Western point of view. Our view of Vietnam in the states is very different from how the rest of the world saw our venture there. And it's the same with this war and many of our interactions in the world.

So... we have created a new democracy in our own image as ordained by God through Mr. Bush. Holy Mission Accomplished.

Article says: "The State Department thinks the Iraqi government is larded with corrupt officials who protect their own at the expense of their country." Must have been a typo. That's obviously a State Department report on the REPUBLICAN PARTY.

General Smedley Butler, sure wish we had him here now rebutting Petraeus and Dubya! They don't make Marines like him anymore!