My clunky metaphor of the U.S. standing in Iraq at a dam with its finger in an expanding hole seems to be apt as ever:
Kurdish officials this fall took delivery of three planeloads of small arms and ammunition imported from Bulgaria, three U.S. military officials said, an acquisition that occurred outside the weapons procurement procedures of Iraq’s central government.
The large quantity of weapons and the timing of the shipment alarmed U.S. officials, who have grown concerned about the prospect of an armed confrontation between Iraqi Kurds and the government at a time when the Kurds are attempting to expand their control over parts of northern Iraq.
As for the rest of the metaphor — America being ready to bolt as soon as someone in DC shouts “Okay, it’s Iraq’s mess now!” –, here’s Judah Grunstein at World Politics Review:
[...] Not only is what happens after we’re gone out of our control, it’s also in some very cynical ways irrelevant to the mission as it’s currently been recalibrated, which is basically to get out while some semblance of political cohesion holds.
And:
Question: Given the argument about how strategically significant Iraqi stability is to U.S. interests, do we go back in in the event of a civil war breaking out following our departure?
