"turns against the democratically elected majority Shiite government by arming the Sunnis"--sorry, Dianavan--you know I'm not exactly Mr. Bush's biggest fan--but we'd need some evidence for this charge.

As I've said more than once, the key to peace in Iraq--- (at least the rump state--"Kurdistan" is gone)---is that the Sunnis don't feel excluded.

There's an awful lot of sloppy thinking going on--by lots of posters--when talking about Iraq. Admittedly it is a complex situation--with all sorts of variables. Among other things, the situation is different in various parts of the country. For instance, it's my understanding that in Anbar, many local Sunnis are tired of al-Qaeda attacks--and al-Qaeda-though ostensibly Sunni--are mostly not Iraqi. So some local Sunnis are teaming up with US forces against al-Qaeda--there--but not necessarily anywhere else.

In Baghdad, one of the main reasons the body count may be going down in some areas is that Sunni sections are being walled off from Shiite sections--not precisely reconciliation. And the official Iraqi police are not allowed in the Sunni sections without US accompaniment--since the Shiite militias in the police can't be trusted by the Sunnis. But the Sunni population can't trust the Sunni militias either--if those Sunnis have been working with the US.

And when projects funded by the US are going on (factories etc), the US sometimes has to stage a fake raid on the project--if it were known the project is supported by the US, those working on it would be in danger--that's how popular the US is.

And as you know, in the recent poll cited, over half the population felt it was fine to kill Americans--again that's how popular the US is.

Bush is drowning in the river of denial.