A strategy for turning down the heat in Iraq.

In Iraq, when Saddam Hussein toppled over like a watt, his disappearance did not leave behind a civil, society yearning to be free, united, and democratic. He left behind a pot that is boiling over--a highly tribalized society, full of pent-up problems, with few institutions of civil society or consensus leaders. The Bush team helped remove the lid off this pot. But the first rule of cooking and warfare is: Never take the lid off a boiling pot unless you also have a strategy for turning down the heat. President Bush had a lid-removing strategy only. He's been improvising on the heat part ever since. Improv time is over. Winning in Iraq is now about who has the smarts, the coordination skills, and the follow-through to get control, of the last mile. Can we putt off a decent election in Iraq, or will, the insurgents thwart that? Can we connect the electricity and sewers and get more jobs going, so more Iraqis are invested in peace, or will, the insurgents thwart that? If the bad guys in Iraq beat America on the last mile--because they are able to intimidate better than America is able to coordinate, protect, invest, and motivate--they will win and America will lose.