This Washington Post article explains why the Iraqi government is failing so miserably. They are taking advice from George Bush. They are doomed!

Once every two weeks, sometimes more often, President Bush gathers with the vice president and the national security adviser in the newly refurbished White House Situation Room and peers, electronically, into the eyes of the man to whom his legacy is so inextricably linked: Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq.

Sometimes, said an official who has sat in on the meetings, they talk about their faith in God.

“They talk about the challenges they face being leaders,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private conversations. “They, of course, also share a faith in God.”

The official declined to elaborate on the extent of their religious discussions, but said, “It is an issue that comes up between two men who are believers in difficult times, who are being challenged.”

So Bush is encouraging Maliki to lean on his belief in God to help make the complicated decisions involved in running a government rather then to seek intelligent counsel from an experienced cabinet member, because we all know how well that has worked for Bush's Presidency.

The Iraqi government never stood a chance!