Iraq Self-Government... or Something Like It

I was reading this article from NRO, and got to this portion: "...Ensure that an Iraqi veneer covers all of our operations. The aim of these operations is not just the disarming of militias and the killing of terrorists, but fostering confidence in the Iraqi people that their own soldiers were responsible for such successes..." I got quite a kick out of this. For those that dont know (and there are probably lots of you, since it isn't publicized), the US is building a monsterous "embassy" in Baghdad. It will cost over $6oo million to build, and house over 3500 employees, as well as containing its own public services (no problem with powere or water here), apartments, retauruants, gymnasiums, and be protected by a series of 5-meter-thick perimeter walls and surface-to-air missle installations. The 25 hectare site (61.8 acres) was "given" to us by the Iraqi government. How very nice of them. I agree with the thesis that Paul McGeough makes: "...as the concrete hulks of a huge 21-building complex rise from the ashes of Saddam's Baghdad, Washington is sending a clear message to Iraqis: "We're here to stay." well then. Supporters of US continued involvement point to statements like this one, where the relevant portion is: Military officials, including some advising the chiefs, have argued that an intensified effort may be the only way to get the counterinsurgency strategy right and provide a chance for victory. Victory. I wish I knew what that meant. Does it mean defeating a nebulus "terrorist" organization? I discussed the difficulty in identifing terrorism in my article Harboring Terrorists. (Citing myself, I'm so proud...) Does it mean Iraqi self-governmnet? It doesn't seem that this will be possible, since the US Embassy there is larger than The Vatican. Maybe we need to be destroying the Iraqi culture? If so, we are doing a great job. The worst part of McGeough's article is this: In Baghdad, all roads lead to the morgue. This building to the north of the city comes from the pages of Dante. It reveals the unvarnished (I like the use of the terms "varnish" here and "veneer" in NRO) truth about this deepening conflict. The body count rises steadily: more than 1800 mutilated corpses were trucked in from across the capital in July, a significant increase on the June toll of almost 1600. Across the country, almost 3200 Iraqis died violent deaths in June. Coping with this flood of suicide-bombing and mass-murder victims is an impossible task for morgue staff. In the stifling summer, the police try to get out before sunrise to gather corpses from the killers' favourite dumping spots before the broiling heat of the day. At the morgue, the bodies are divided along sectarian lines. The viciousness of the killings is sickening. Sunni victims of Shiite violence usually have holes drilled in their heads and joints and are found near the Shiite slums of Sadr City. Shiite victims of Sunni violence are often shot in the head or decapitated and usually they are dragged from the tepid waters of the Tigris. Up to 200 bodies are delivered to the morgue each day. Sometimes there is the dignity of a body bag, but often body parts are delivered in banana boxes discarded at city bazaars. The Iraqi Government threatens the morgue staff with reprisals if they reveal information to reporters because the statistics are such devastating indicators of the Government's — and the United States' — failure.(My emphasis) But one of the doctors agreed to talk to The Age as long as his name was not published. "It just gets worse, especially in this heat," he said. Someone, please tell me where all of this is leading. My own analysis scares me to death.