Joe Biden's not looking so stupid all of a sudden. James Baker may say it's too hard to split up big cities, but the Shiites are getting their way in Iraq, and they deserve to, say I--along with the Kurds.ARTICLE: "In Victory for Shiite Leader, Iraqi Parliament Approves Creating Autonomous Regions," by Kirk Semple, New York Times, 12 October 2006, p. A12.
With the insurgency largely based in Sunni lands, the Shiites and Kurds are voting to leave any attempt at a unitary state behind.
That's not saying there can't be an Iraq in the meantime. It'll just be made up of three mini-states with a lot of hatred and mistrust between them. When that goes away, Iraq can be something more coherent again--but not before.
The sooner this process proceeds, the sooner the violence can be segregated and the serious reconstruction begin. Yes, it will go most slowly in the Sunni provinces, but the power of precedence elsewhere is the best weapon we've got--including against Iran and Syria.