"There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq. .."

Now here's a Republican worth listening to. He's got it half right:

Leaving Iraq, Honorably
By Chuck Hagel
Sunday, November 26, 2006; Page B07

There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq. These terms do not reflect the reality of what is going to happen there. The future of Iraq was always going to be determined by the Iraqis -- not the Americans.

Iraq is not a prize to be won or lost. It is part of the ongoing global struggle against instability, brutality, intolerance, extremism and terrorism. There will be no military victory or military solution for Iraq. Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger made this point last weekend.

The time for more U.S. troops in Iraq has passed. We do not have more troops to send and, even if we did, they would not bring a resolution to Iraq. Militaries are built to fight and win wars, not bind together failing nations. We are once again learning a very hard lesson in foreign affairs: America cannot impose a democracy on any nation -- regardless of our noble purpose.

We have misunderstood, misread, misplanned and mismanaged our honorable intentions in Iraq with an arrogant self-delusion reminiscent of Vietnam. Honorable intentions are not policies and plans. Iraq belongs to the 25 million Iraqis who live there. They will decide their fate and form of government.

It may take many years before there is a cohesive political center in Iraq. America's options on this point have always been limited..."

This entire column is worth reading, if a bit unrealistically sanguine for the future of the Middle East. As long as the Middle East- or the Middle West- remains under the control of fundamentalist zealots and greedy men posing as fundamentalist zealots, the dragon's teeth of war are sown into the soil. There will be violence if we stay or leave.

There will be less for us if we leave immediately. When we do leave, Iraq will seethe like a cauldron of blood. But that's what it's doing now anyway. When the cauldron subsides, a new strong man will arise promising to do God's work, and the violence will continue.

It has to do with too many people using too few resources, and the value of the sand beneath their feet.

You may think it trite: but take away the value of what's underneath the sand, and bring water to the desert, and the violence will subside.

It all boils down to renewable energy and resource management. It would help if people could leave their bloody God and superstition behind them. But without endless war, where would the blank check be?