From what I can tell, the war in Iraq is pretty much over. Or it CAN be over if we want it. All that American soldiers have to do over here is to play the good-guy card just a little bit longer...if they can just do that, can hang in there a little bit longer while the "insurgents" continue to shoot themselves in the foot....

Was it Chairman Mao who said, "To be effective, an army must swim through the people like a fish through water." And his tenure over China failed because he stopped taking his own advice. The Cultural Revolution became a disaster for him when he lost sight of winning hearts and minds and focused in on the blood sports.

And the same thing is happening here in Iraq. The insurgents' policy seems to be simply, "Let's blow as many people and things up as we can." But guess what, guys. If you wanna be a fish in the water, you can't go around blowing other fish up. Every time someone is kidnapped or beheaded or a car bomb goes off, the "insurgents" shoot themselves in the foot because the general population will no longer protect and support them.

And speaking of swimming, it's time for the current government officials in Iraq to stop acting like sharks and become just a little bit less corrupt. And as for Iran, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Turkey -- please stop fighting over poor Iraq's corpse before it is even dead. That's bottom-feeding behavior.

And if I was an insurgent here in Iraq, I'd immediately go back to winning hearts and minds. No one here wants another Saddam -- or even another George Bush. And bombing Iran is NOT gonna get Bush back in the swim either.

And if I was General Petraeus, I'd follow the Marines' Anbar Model and start swimming like mad! Schools, roads, food, jobs, sewage treatment plants, reconstruction. Play the "lesser of two evils" card for all that it's worth.

And if I was the American media, I'd stop billing what is happening in Iraq as a "war". It's no longer a war over here. The "war" phase is OVER. Instead, think of Iraq as just some poor country in need of foreign aid after having been hit by a tsunami named George W. Bush.

This war is over if we want it.

What's that old joke? "But Mommie, I don't WANT to go to Europe...."

"Shut up and swim."