Unless the Iraqis save themselves, no one will

http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/007850.html

'GEN. CALDWELL: The difference this time in the Iraqi security plan is, you know, as we've discussed before, is there's three aspects. It's not just a military plan; there's the political and economic piece associated with it. Unlike any time before when we have worked to deliver a plan in the city, this time, it truly is -- the Iraqis have put forth a political will. They are demonstrating the political will to follow through and make the tough commitment.
The fact that the prime minister on January 25th went and talked to the council representatives and laid out the principles of this plan to them, and then there is a overwhelming majority vote that voted in favor of those principles, of which a key aspect is no political interference with military commanders conducting their operations within the city, and the fact that there are no off-limit areas either within the city -- so there is an incredible political will this time that we have not seen before.'

Reading this made me think about the vice that Iraqis find themselves in: The vice created by the utter disinterest Iran and the Jihadi nutters have for whether Iraq becomes a desert full of bones. For both parties, the only thing that counts is giving America a bloody nose. And if giving America a bloody nose means that hundreds of thousand more Iraqi bystanders have to die in disgusting ways, oh well, never mind.

There seems to be a realisation among Iraqis at every level that if they don't save themselves, they will disappear in a bloody mess, and the Iranians and the Jihadis won't shed a single tear. That burgeoning realisation is the worlds best hope that Iraq can stop itself and step back from the brink of an intra-communal bloodbath.