USA's Iraq Coalition Goes "Bye-Bye!"

The last great earth-shakin', democracy-promotin', terrrrst-scarin' Iraqi election was held way back on December 15th. That is now 71 days ago and yet what passes for the Iraqi government is still far from a substantial coalition of like-minded politicians.

IS ANYONE SURPRISED????

Now, as full-blown Civil War looms, Australian, Japanese, US, and UK heads are meeting to discuss withdrawal strategies.

Given the levels of Japanese opposition to their involvement, it is perhaps no surprise that the Japanese media is the first to leak...

Mainichi newspaper reports the meeting will discuss the logistics of expected troop withdrawals from Iraq, but the agency spokeswoman refused to reveal further details of the talks, saying only that no announcement was expected to emerge.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing agency protocol. The Mainichi report did not cite its sources.

Key point:

Japanese government authorities have suggested that an eventual withdrawal would hinge on the formation of a stable government in Iraq.

The Japanese expect to hear Bush declare formation a full-fledged Iraqi government by the end of March. Then... Coalition Go Bye-bye!

Hey, we did what we could right? It's NOT OUR FAULT!!!

Expect to see more headlines like this in the coming months: U.S. Looks to Baghdad to Deal With Violence