No one dared speak out against this war, until finally John Murtha found he could no longer keep silent. Even a decorated Marine vet like Murtha was systematically demonized and villified by the right. Those with a stake in this administration did their damndest to stifle dissent, and now it is too late to fix Bush’s blunder, which will change the politics of the entire region.

“Because of this layer upon layer of anger, crime, nationalism and religion, the situation is not simply a war or insurgency. It includes settling of scores and jockeying for power among groups who feel that rule over Iraq, or some of its regions, is up for grabs because the US will have to exit soon.. . .”

That’s the crux of the problem. Iraqis have some sorting out to do. Until the Iraqis get to do that sorting out, which will be extremely violent, diplomacy will mean nothing. Until the sorting out has been done, foreign troops can do little but try to suppress some of the violence and get killed, a few here, a few there, day after day.

Iran probably could be persuaded to step in, quell the violence and establish order. The price for getting Iran to do that is probably an under-the-table deal with President Bush to quit opposing Iran’s nuclear ambitions and end all sanctions against Iran.

Ironically, whether Bush enters into such a deal or not, Iran probably has the power and clout in the region and within Iraq to step in, quell the violence and establish order itself — playing the hero on the world stage and showing the U.S. up in a big way. In return, Iraq would undoubtedly become a client state of Iran. At the least, predominantly Shiite areas would become de facto Iranian provinces.

What I’m saying is, thanks to Bush’s blunder war and horrendously mismanaged occupation, Iran is in a position to say to the U.S., heads we win, tails you lose.