Mideast: On Target - Dismembering Iraq

The central thesis of this article (Mideast: On Target - Dismembering Iraq): who in his right mind would go asking for help in Iraq from the very parties who have the most to gain from instability and the breakup of Iraq? If we don't have a better plan for solving the Iraq mess than going to the Iranians and Syrians for help, then we had better pack up our soldiers right now and get the hell out of Bagdad -- and for that matter turn over the keys to the little Gulf States and then to Riyadh as well, because they will be next in the sites of Iran...

Don't get me wrong: I am totally in favor of having dialog with our enemies, but am disturbed that we don't seem to have a "Plan B" to keep Iran somewhat honest in this endeavor. Are the Saudis, Jordanians and Egyptians asleep? Where are the Arab league (read: Egyptian) "peacekeeping" troops for Iraq? Throwing yourself at the mercy of your adversaries with no alternate pressure or plan is called surrender, a surrender which is being staged worse than that of South Vietnam, and for stakes that are a lot more important (i.e., control of the greatest global supply of oil). If we are going to go down in flames and humiliation in Iraq, then I would be more in favor of letting Saddam escape from prison and reform his regime -- anything for a counterweight to Iran.

Can you short sell shares in President Bush's legacy?