be just

TomDispatch - Tomgram: The Mother Ship Lands in Iraq It is worth remembering that, when the American commanders whose troops had just taken Baghdad, wanted their victory photo snapped, they memorably seated themselves, grinning happily, behind a marble table in one of those captured palaces; that American soldiers and newly arrived officials marveled at the former tyrant's exotic symbols of power; that they swam in Saddam's pools, fed rare antelopes from his son Uday's private zoo to its lions (and elsewhere shot his herd of gazelles and ate them themselves); and, when in need of someplace to set up an American embassy, the newly arrived occupation officials chose -- are you surprised? -- one of his former dream palaces. They found nothing strange in the symbolism of this (though it was carefully noted by Baghdadis), even as they swore they were bringing liberation and democracy to Saddam's benighted land.

Exit From Iraq Should Be Through Iran : "A rapprochement with Iran, therefore, is the key to restoring regional stability as the US withdraws from Iraq. Can it be reached? Yes, if the US is willing to pay the price of dropping its 'all sticks' policy for stopping Iran’s nuclear-weapons program. Put plainly, the US has two choices: It can have an Iran with nuclear weapons that refuses to cooperate on many shared interests. Or it can have an Iran with nuclear weapons that is willing to cooperate. "

The Surge: From Worse to Worst? - by Mohammed Salih : "In the central parts of the country, Shia and Sunni Muslims are fighting each other. In the mixed areas of the north a conflict, though still small, has broken out between Arabs and Kurds. The western parts of the country are witnessing Sunni tribes fighting the al-Qaeda terror network, and in the south Shia political groups are fighting for power and control of oil-rich areas like Basra. "

'Iraqi police cannot control crime' | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited : "Mark Tran explains the problems plaguing the Iraqi police force "