Why we stuck with Maliki — and lost Iraq

Powerful, detailed stuff. The most important lesson from this is the need for continual focus - over time things change and develop, and there needs to be good people in the right position to react correctly. Never fun to see comments like "...the White House had settled on its disastrous Iraq strategy. The Iraqi constitutional process and election results would be ignored, and America would throw its full support behind Maliki..." when "Democracy and respect for human rights have long been central components of U.S. foreign policy" is the official line from the US State Department.