IRAQ: WHAT WENT WRONG - A Fair and Balanced Look at America's New Vietnam

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030902/7/5558e.html

KIRKSVILLE, MISSOURI--In my March 25th column, I wrote that Bush could salvage a war based on lies only if he played the earnest liberator rather than the crusading colonizer. He had already abandoned Afghanistan; few cared or noticed. But Iraq (news - web sites) wasn't nearly as remote. The world would be watching, and we would only have one chance to make a good first impression.

I wish I could pick stocks as accurately.

The bombing of Najaf's Imam Ali mosque, killing pro-U.S. Ayatollah Mohammed Bakr al Hakim and at least 90 Shiite faithful, marks the start of full-fledged religious warfare in the U.S.-occupied central and southern sectors. (Our de facto recognition of a future Kurdistan has effectively ended the prospect of a unified Iraq.) Possible suspects include fellow Shiite cleric Mukhtader al Sadr, an Iraqi nationalist opposed to the U.S. occupation, Iranian intelligence agents and Sunnis affiliated with Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s deposed government.

Iraqi complaints that U.S. forces failed to provide adequate security only tell part of the story. Hoping that Iraq's next leaders would organically emerge from the mish-mash of former exile groups, Administrator Paul Bremer refused to create a new U.S. puppet regime or to allow Iraqis to hold elections. This faith-based occupation policy has sparked a violent struggle among the opposition parties. DeBaathification and random sweeps of homes in Sunni-dominated regions are alienating the Sunni minority while emboldening insurgent Shiite militants. And the Iranians, worried that Bush will invade them after next year's presidential election, are funding radical Shiites to keep us tied up.

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[hang a left]

1. Get our troops the hell out of there!