THE PLAY ENDS WITH THE HERO DEAD

The hero in this case is democracy in Iraq. The mostly Iraqi bloggers, almost all of whom have been hopeful over the past couple of years, are now almost united in their description of Iraq. It is vicious civil war with bodies found every morning with their throats slit, body parts chopped off, or just hung from whatever is handy. I hate to tell you that I told you so, but I did. From the beginning I was aware of the basic tribal nature of the society, one in which every tribe seeks dominance over the others until a single strong man triumphs. The history of the region dictates that whomever finally controls the army--you know, the one we trained--will be the winner and will be ruthless in stomping any and all opposition.

Has the mission to "give" Iraq democracy failed? Yes. Was it worth the effort? Probably, but this is not a football game that ends and will be resumed "next year," this is the end of the play and the hero, democracy in Iraq, has been killed. And in Afghanistan the hero is committing suicide.

BTW, until Michael Yon cleans up his link to the Kaplan piece, here is the link to a great essay. Kaplan made his bones as a travel writer and his backgrounds to each and every city are an education, even if you disagree with his opinions.