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The problem with Iraq, or the Middle East is that everyone wants instant solutions. They are not going to happen, since most every country there is the equivalent of a bottle of well shaken soda - when you pop the top, you have a high chance of getting soaked with the contents.
Iraq has been festering for the last 75 years - since the Sunnis were installed as the overlords by the British after the Shia revolts following the collapse of the Ottoman empire. Saddam and oil made the situation worse, because the money allowed dreams of glory to be realized - resulting in the wars in the area between Iran & finally Kuwait. But the main thing was that the Sunni minority was able to brutally rule over the majority Shia and minority Kurds - and the killings and displacement have made resentments that do not easily fade.
When the US invaded and removed the Baathist government , the cap came off the bottle, and we are still seeing the effect of the release of pressure on the situation. Sunnis desperately trying to regain conrol initially with customary brutality, and now, the ascendent Shia and Kurdish populations seeking out and taking revenge for all the real and imagined slights of the past. Couple that with an incursion of foreign "jihadis" with no tolerance for anything other than their version of hell (supported of course by the neighboring countries with everything to gain by a failure of the new Iraqi government) and the toxic mix is still swirling in the can - and seeking an equilibrium state.
Bush wanted to change the equilibrium in the middle east, by toppling the most visible leader in the region and pushing the idea of self determination. If anyone thinks that there would have been change without that push - tell me which police state has been toppled by the people lately- Syria? North Korea? Burma? Not a chance, people. The ones that have tried are dead.
Where fault is due (and there is plenty to go around) , is the total lack of understanding of the tribal nature and motivations of the people in Iraq - as well as the brutality that many there are capable of displaying. Couple that with the ability of modern arms and explosives to let a small group of people hold a population hostage and you have a real mess. But with all that said - there are signs that the Iraqi people are slowly coming to terms with the idea of political give and take - and that bodes well for the lomg term, at least until an new equilibrium can be reached.
The greatest failure is the inability to see that this process takes years ...not just the few heady weeks after a liberation. It took the United States two times to get it right at first - the Articles of Confederation and then the Constitution. The Iraqis are working on their version and the bright spot, if there is one, is that they are seeking a government and not a strong man to lead them. That has got to be an improvement, in anyone's book.
