Petreaus and Crocker- No solutions

The hearings, such as they were, have occurred and have left a wake of frustration and chagrin. There is no solution, that is acceptable, to the situation in Iraq. The attempt to spontaneously create a democracy by the mere charade of an election, in which a major segment of the population abstained, and the subsequent formation of a "government", that is simply a sectarian mongrel group of self serving individuals, is disingenuous in the extreme. The old saying: "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" applies in Iraq. The people are not used to democratically elected leaders. They are accustomed to being told by their Imams what to do. They are highly trained and educated in the authority of those religious leaders. They take their religion very seriously and spend more of their energy worshiping and praying than anything else. There is no infrastructure of society that enables Iraqis to interact with a government in which they have any say. Their loyalties are to their tribe and they are fierce defenders of their tribal customs. Tribal rivalry is endemic to their culture and they never forget an insult but attempt revenge for any felt injustice. The English found early on in their meddling in the ME that attempting to govern there is "like herding cats".
Our presence in Iraq is seen by Iraqis as an "occupation" that is to be resisted in every way. It has been blown up to be an assault on Islam itself. This calls for the Jihad, or Holy war. The Madrases, or religious schools, preach the necessity of fighting the occupation as a noble deed even to the extent of giving one's life in the notorious "suicide bomber" act. There is no reasoning with someone willing to blow them self up with the expectation of immortal life and a bevy of virgins to boot.
As dire as the prediction of the ensuing chaos and bloodshed following our withdrawal is it appears that that is the ultimate outcome no matter how long American forces attempt to prevent it. We can't change a culture, which is what we are fighting, and we simply have to accept the consequences of our blunder in invading in the first place. All the administrations promises and predictions have been wrong so far, very likely the latest one is wrong also. More of the same is just not acceptable.
The most pressing issue is the pursuit of Alqueada. This has been delayed and side tracked by the Iraq war and must be resumed. The 9/11 attack was a lucky, bold stroke, by the bin Laden led gang. We were tragically caught with our pants down and the blame game will go on for a long time. None the less, our diversion played right into the hand of bin Laden far better than he could have hoped for. That battlefield became the best recruitment tool for Alqueada. Currently is seems that the Taliban like extremism practiced by the affiliates of Alqueada in Iraq has roused the animosity of certain Sunni chieftains to the extent of their choosing to fight them, either instead of or in addition to, the Americans. How far that goes remains to be seen. Characteristically, Bush has interpreted the matter as proof of his plan's effectiveness. BS!!
Almost as the hearings were in progress Bush announced his acceptance of Petraeous' plan as what will ensue through the remainder of his term. Let the next President deal with the clean up. Bush is going out on the circuit and "make some money to refill the coffers". The latest worry is that with Rove gone Cheney has less opposition to his designs to attack Iran. Hopefully Bush has had enough wrong advice to fall for that line at this time. "Stupid is what stupid does".