heads they win, tails we lose

This report by Fred Kaplan: No Way Out - Is there any hope of avoiding catastrophe in Iraq? will not hold any surprises for any of us who have actually been paying attention to the Bush fiasco in Iraq but it is a good summary nonetheless with at least one telling insight -- "the U.S. military--the only force in Iraq remotely capable of keeping the country from falling apart--finds itself in a maddening situation where tactical victories yield strategic setbacks. The Marines could readily defeat the insurgents in Najaf, but only at the great risk of inflaming Shiites--and sparking still larger insurgencies--elsewhere."