Pakistan, the future

now a look at Afghanistan today gives an idea of the (best case) future of Iraq.

10 years from now, expect no central control, a failing military, need for more foreign troops and a situation getting worse.

a look at Pakistan today, will prepare you for the situation in Iraqs neighbors then.

Three suicide bombings killed at least 51 people on Thursday, as Pakistan's violent turmoil spread from the Afghan frontier to the south, officials said.

Bush has brought total chaos to a region. that the war in Iraq is lost, might be not the worst news these days.

On May 30, the Coalition held a ceremony in the Kurdistan town of Erbil to mark its handover of security in Iraq's three Kurdish provinces from the Coalition to the Iraqi government. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, the U.S. commander for northern Iraq, praised the Iraqi government for overseeing all aspects of the handover. And he drew attention to the "benchmark" now achieved: With the handover, he said, Iraqis now controlled security in seven of Iraq's 18 provinces.

In fact, nothing was handed over. The only Coalition force in Kurdistan is the peshmerga, a disciplined army that fought alongside the Americans in the 2003 campaign to oust Saddam Hussein; it is loyal to the Kurdistan government in Erbil. The peshmerga provided security in the three Kurdish provinces before the handover and after. The Iraqi army has not been on Kurdistan's territory since 1996 and is effectively prohibited from being there. Nor did the Iraqi flag fly at the ceremony. It is banned in Kurdistan.