Iraq's back in the News

It wasn't that long ago that Iraq got put on the back burner. Violence was down and the "surge" was "working." Violence was down considerably from the previous year and candidates like John McCain felt comfortable suggesting that the Bush plan, though originally flawed in its planning and execution was finally working. Of course little progress was being made by the central government and part of the progress was a result of US efforts to buy off Sunni support.
That was then. More recently, the Iraqi leadership gave Iranian President -- supposedly one of America's leading enemies -- a red carpet welcome. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad even made reference to leaders who sneak in by stealth -- a reference to the fact that when President Bush goes to Iraq he has to do so secretly and quickly, leaving before anyone knows he's been there. No red carpets and military reviews for the Occupier.
Accompanying this event is a significant rise in violence. The question being, is this just a temporary uptick, or the beginning of another cycle? Eugene Robinson's WaPo piece today raises significant questions that will need to be faced rather soon by the candidates. It would seem to me that a long term occupation strategy is doomed to failure and regular cycles of violence. History is replete with examples of just that.
The question then is, what are our options and who can best wrestle with them now that Iraq is back in the news?

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