[The] Iraqi government remains corrupt and ineffective, another common characteristic of the region. More Iraqis are protesting against this. They are also protesting the continued attacks, and threats, against minorities (especially Christians). ... Corruption is the main problem. Iraq does not lack trained people who can build and maintain the needed infrastructure. But the urge to steal means that money for these projects often disappears into foreign bank accounts before it can be applied to more needy projects. The corrupt politicians live in compounds with their own generators and local water and sewage systems.
Nearly seven years ago, the post-insurgency fight for rule of law was obvious. But we checked out before we could win this stage of the war. How smart is that?
It isn't too late to recover from this unforced error. We need enough troops in Iraq to reassure Iraqis that rule of law will prevail and nobody will stage a coup to take over. We need the troops to warn Iran off of subverting Iraq. We need the troops to be capable of supporting civilian aids promoting rule of law out in the field.
Perhaps a president not quite as vested in the narrative of defeat in Iraq can achieve that.
