Are the Iraqis a waste of time?

The Iraqis are being very uncooperative.  Don't they owe us something?  After all, we invented an excuse, eyeballed their oil, invaded their country, hanged their leadership, turned the whole place inside-out, caused uncounted numbers of deaths, and they won't cooperate with us!

Senior military commanders here now portray the intransigence of Iraq's Shiite-dominated government as the key threat facing the U.S. effort in Iraq, rather than al-Qaeda terrorists, Sunni insurgents or Iranian-backed militias...

...The lack of political progress calls into question the core rationale behind the troop buildup President Bush announced in January, which was premised on the notion that improved security would create space for Iraqis to arrive at new power-sharing arrangements. And what if there is no such breakthrough by next summer? "If that doesn't happen," Odierno said, "we're going to have to review our strategy."

This is incredibly inconvenient, not just for the politicized US military but for our politico-in-chief, his embarrassed State Department, to manufacturers of "Mission Accomplished" banners, and to America's armchair warriors.

After years of seizing on every positive development and complaining that the good news wasn't being adequately conveyed, American military officials now warn against excessive optimism. "It's never as bad as it was, and it's not as good as it's being reported now," said Army Maj. Gen. Michael Barbero, chief of strategic operations for U.S. forces in Iraq.

On the diplomatic side of the Iraq equation, U.S. officials said they realize time is short. "We've got six months because the military is leaving," said one official.

The core dilemma, Tom Ricks writes in the Washington Post, is "how to force political change in Iraq without destabilizing the country further." 

Have we missed any opportunities for bungling?  Coming up later today, a conversation with Jon Lee Anderson, another Iraq observer and reporter, who sees a potential time bomb hidden within the current "surge" strategy.