What we need is an open, no-holds-barred discussion

Perhaps Brzezinski is right. It is possible that a pullout, with coordination with those responsible for security, might work.

I don't know, is the truth.

What we need is a free, open, no-holds-barred discussion, especially with the American and Iraq troops responsible for security and the Iraqi political leaders responsible for political resolution of outstanding issues, about what should be done.

When you look at that Iraqi situation - the civil war and its relationship to the issues of power in the Iraq parliament - the problem of power and its distorting, and intentionally manipulative consequence, on resolution of important issues becomes all the more crystal clear. Radicals and terrorists and despots of all stripes have figured out that they can use and manipulate the disagreements of otherwise good faith citizens of liberal democracies and illiberal nations and cultures, alike, and newly democratized countries, like Iraq, to try to accomplish self-centered or self-righteous political ends that, generally, undermine more decent aims for the people of those nations or cultures, and for all of us.

They fuck everything up and make it really difficult, often intentionally, to find more decent resolutions that they believe undermine their power and the self-righteous aims that feed their power.

Everyone should have their two cents. Though I will say that I, for one, will not be taking everyone's input as seriously as those who I trust, more, are on the up and up about looking out for the welfare of the Iraqis and the American soldiers trying to protect them, right now.

This is what we should have for all policy questions, if we weren't such fuckin' ninnies. But it is definitely what we need with something as serious and high stakes as this question of what to do with this situation.

All I know is that I'm tired of liberal democracies and liberal peoples acting like liberal values only matter in some fantasy world that only matters in the land of make believe because we're too fuckin' pussy to take those values seriously in this world. Surely we can do better than this.

But that's what we need.