No Exit

Is pretty much what Juan Cole sees in Iraq:

"Therefore, I conclude that the United States is stuck in Iraq for the medium term, and perhaps for the long term. The guerrilla war is likely to go on a decade to 15 years. Given the basic facts, of capable, trained and numerous guerrillas, public support for them from Sunnis, access to funding and munitions, increasing civil turmoil, and a relatively small and culturally poorly equipped US military force opposing them, led by a poorly informed and strategically clueless commander-in-chief who has made himself internationally unpopular, there is no near-term solution."

And while Cole doesn't examine the geopolitical/economic reasons for the occupation (preferring to cite Bush's stubbornness as the chief culprit), I agree with pretty much everything he says in the above post. It's depressing, but a required read nonetheless.