A Stop To Staunch The Bleeding In Iraq

The President completed the Turkish leg of his European tour today, and then made an unannounced visit to Iraq to discuss various issues with government leaders and meet with troops.

This comes on the heels of another car bomb in the Baghdad area, a day after a separate set of bombings killing 33. I know what I'd tell Nouri al-Maliki if I were the President - you need to end the belligerence against the Sunni Awakening groups, because they are either returning to the insurgency or allowing AQI to operate more freely. Sectarian violence is rising in the same proportion as the tension between the Awakening forces and the central government who lied to them rises. The Sunni groups need to be paid and integrated into the security apparatus. The absence of this will cause lots more carnage. This is a diplomatic problem and not a military one, and that's what I'd emphasize to Maliki - your people are dying and our military will not be used as your personal protection force.