I am so tired of not being able to understand “what is important” from a news “report.” Or rather, I hate feeling like there is so much more going on in a story, and the reporters and editors who bring me information just can’t be bothered to find out what that is. Tell me what I am to understand from this very mixed blurb:

By NATASHA T. METZLER
WASHINGTON (AP) - American support for the fledgling Iraqi government is not unconditional, and Iraq should expect changes in the U.S. role, incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Saturday.

“In the days ahead, the Iraqis must make the tough decisions and accept responsibility for their future,” Hoyer, D-Md., said during the weekly Democratic radio address. “And the Iraqis must know: Our commitment, while great, is not unending.”  Read more 

As usual, Chris speaks for me. It’s long but well worth the read. Particularly this point:

And so immediate withdrawal, while still the “best” option on the table, is far worse now than it would have been a year ago, two years ago, three years ago. Again, this is the reality. This is what we can’t escape. There is no good way out. There is no good way forward. Tonight, tomorrow night, and for nights uncounted to come, some innocent will die in agony because of what we’ve done.

Every day we don’t have “serious” adults and thinkers working on the problem, this is true. Every day we waste trying to decide if “it’s a civil war” is another life lost, another dead American soldier. As in Vietnam, it will be the outcry of the people that force our “leaders” to stop screwing around, to stop bickering over which policy is more or less domestically savory, to stop avoiding asking the hard questions. Crime is not a big enough word to describe what those responsible for this mess have done; I include Democrats on this list, especially those who would placate the hardliners in Israel in order to improve their chances in 08 over here. Iraq isn’t going to magically just go away, nor is the situation there going to do anything but deteriorate every passing day we “stay the course.”