Neither Side Has A Plan
Neither candidate has any clue what to do next in Iraq. It was a positive sign this week when the administration recognized reality and shifted more funds to security. (You cannot rebuild a country while contractors are being kidnapped and want to leave.) But it stems from the negatives reflected by increased attacks and casualties in Iraq. It remains to be seen if throwing money at security will do anything, but at least this action shows that being areconition of the fact that being "unwawvering" in all cases is not such a good thing.

While America pins its hopes on an elected government taking over after elections in January, that is no sure thing. If terrorists continue to control several cities, the citizens there won't be taking part in elections. If these (mostly Sunni) cities are excluded, the "elected government will have a hard time claiming legitimacy and will be unable to hold together the Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions. Even if the election goes off okay, the terrorists - I resent the term "insurgents" because it implies legitimacy to these thugs - will still be there and the elected government will remain reliant on US forces to keep them in power. There is no flowering Jeffersonian democracy on the way. And there may not be a good way out - we may over time be faced with picking from the best of bad options.