Just a quick reality check, people. The Shia are the large majority of the Iraqi government we helped set up, and thus Iran has an automatic foot in the door in Iraq, for the reasons Senatus outlined. What's going to happen is that we will declare mission accomplished sooner (Democrat) or later (Republican) and if we are really stupid we'll keep a large base in Iraq.

About one to three years after the troops are gone, the power-sharing arrangement will break down and violence will break out between the Sunnis and the Shia (with both looking over their shoulder at the Kurds). The Saudis and the Gulf States will support the Sunnis while Iran will support the Shia and the ethnic cleansing will be impressive and the atrocities many. We'll be criticized if we interfere and we'll be criticized if we don't interfere, and oil prices will go up again.

Not much to show for all that time, money and American lives invested in Iraq.