Iraq

Of the many depressing pieces I've read about Iraq over the last month, this post strikes me as especially depressing. Things in Iraq seem absolutely awful now, and only to be getting worse. I can't imagine that the elections will fix much, if they're actually held. And I can't imagine that the U.S. will be able to hold on for too much longer if things continue to deteriorate after the elections, as they probably will. But what in the world happens when they leave? What in the world happens to twenty odd million Iraqis suddenly even more at the mercy of private militias, assorted jihadi groups, foreign proxies, organized criminals, remnants of the old regime, and so on, all warring over the spoils of the former Iraqi state? I wish I could hope for something better, but I'm afraid something unspeakably bloody is coming, far worse than what we've seen so far.