Iraq: Who Rules?

The opening stories of today's violence and conflict in Iraq are, naturally, sad and horrifying, but they're also sort of old news. A newer development is closer to the end of the article, as you see the Iraqi government increasingly chafing at being treated as subcontractors for an American colonial administration.

At the end of the day, I think this is a major problem for all so-called "plans" for Iraq. At this point, things have simply gone too far for the U.S. government to really impose its will on any of the major Iraqi actors, call them insurgents, militias, the Iraqi government, or whatever else you like.