Mencius knows:

When you attempt something and fail, always turn back to yourself for the reason.  Rectify yourself, and all beneath Heaven will return home to you. (125)

     Bush seems congenitally unable to do this, to look to himself and the mistakes he has made in the whole sorry Iraq affair.  Instead he looks for others to blame and continues to deny the gravity and complexity of the situation he faces.  Until he engages in honest introspection, nothing will really change – or change will be forced upon him by events beyond the control of US power. 

    Bush holds on to the al-Qaeda threat.  That is obviously part of what is going on in Iraq but, as today’s report from the Marine Corps makes clear, "al-Qaeda" (whatever that might imply organizationally) is not something external to Iraq; it is deeply inscribed into a multifaceted and self-reinforcing insurgency:

Al-Qaeda itself, now an "integral part of the social fabric of
western Iraq," has become so entrenched, autonomous and financially
independent that U.S. forces no longer have the option "for a
decapitating strike that would cripple the organization," the report
says. That is why, it says, the death of al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi in June "had so little impact on the structure and
capabilities of al-Qaeda," especially in Anbar province.

The
senior intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of his work, said yesterday that he largely
agrees with Devlin’s assessment, except that he thinks it overstates
the role of al-Qaeda in the province. "We argue that it is a major
element in Anbar, but it is not the largest or most dominant group," he
said.

 All of this, of course, was created by the US invasion and the failures of the US occupation.  No invasion, no al-Qaeda in Iraq, no insurgency that creates hundreds and thousands of battle-tested, America-hating fighters.  But Bush cannot bring himself to accept the depth of the problem; or if he can he does not follow through publicly in a manner that would allow for a more honest consideration of next steps.  He cares more about protecting himself from the full brunt of criticism he deserves than he does about facing up to the disaster he has created in Iraq.

     Iraq is lost.  And Bush lost it.