The Bush Magic Is Gone

It's easy to speculate about democracy, victory, a unified Iraq, etc. the way Bush does, but how realistic is this?

The Kurds have and will continue to have their own country with 20% of the oil.

The Shiites also have their own country with 60% of the population and 80% of the oil.

The Sunni Arabs have 20% of the population and 0% of the oil.

The Sunni Arabs used to exploit the Kurds and the Shiites mercilessly. The Sunni Arabs are the majority of the insurgents. They are killing, kidnapping and blowing up. It's all they can do.

The Shiites want no part of the Sunni Arabs. They do want to play nice with Iran and are doing so. The Shiites have at least two militias.

The Kurds want no part of any Arabs, Sunni or Shiite. The Kurds have a well-equipped militia, the pesh merga.

By what magic can Bush meld these antagonistic groups into a peaceful, unified, democratic Iraq?

Short answer: it can't be done.

Bush certainly offers no credible plan.