It is an intractable mess, not only because of horrendous mistakes made by the Bush Administration, but because of regional loyalties and long-standing rivalries between the Sunnis and the Shia.
Following last November’s electoral repudiation of the Bush administration’s Iraq policies, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, fearing the worst for his Sunni brothers in Iraq in the event of a US troop withdrawal, administered a very decisive, public swift kick to Dick Cheney’s money-lined patoot.
Saudi Arabia is the same country that supplied the majority of the 9/11 terrorists, and whose citizens continue to fund both the Sunni insurgents raising havoc in Iraq and the US’s worst enemy in the “war on terror”, al Qaeda.
Still, their leadership is catered to, and have been for years, by the US government.
Iran, on the other hand, is a Shiite theocracy which funds the so-called “death squads” in Iraq, the militias that are “ensconced” within the Iraqi army and police. Some believe that the militias are doing the Shiite-controlled government’s dirty work for them. The Prime Minister, al-Maliki, is a Shiite, as is Muqtada al-Sadr, the head of the militias, also known as the Mahdi Army.
The Saudis do not want to give Iran additional influence in Iraq, and in that endeavor, they are joined by other Sunni-dominated countries like Egypt and Jordan. Collectively, they fear that al-Maliki is a “pawn” of Shiite Iran.
Saudi Arabia is not the biggest importer of oil to the US: Canada is first, then Mexico. Venezuela is fourth.
Articles and at least one book have been written about the close personal relationship between the Saudis and the Bush family.
The Iraq Study Group recommended a phased withdrawal of US troops, presumably to force the Shiite government to “crack down” on the Mahdi militias and compromise with the Sunnis.
Compared to Saudi Arabia, Iran is not a rich country; it is dependent on oil revenue. The Sauds could shut off the Iranian support of the Mahdi by increasing oil production and thus, lower the cost and shut off Iran’s major source of revenue.
The cost of the Iraq war may exceed $1 trillion.
On the civilian front, Paul Bremer, Presidential Envoy to Iraq, Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, recipient of the State Department Superior Honor Award, two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards and the Distinguished Honor Award, threw thousands of Iraqis out of work by refusing to reopen state-owned factories and removing former Baathists from their government positions.
This position was officially moderated over a year ago, but it has not yet implemented, the re-employment of Baathist party members having been assigned to Ahmed Chalabi, who is back in power after a brief fall out with the Bush administration.
So, would you opt for the “nuke ’em all” military solution so beloved by right wing talk show hosts? Diplomacy, as attempted by the beleagured Secretary Rice, who once again is carrying water to the Sunni nations of the Middle East?
Or, would you take the George Bush path, and push the whole catastrophe to the next President?