Federalism for Iraq

Senator and Presidential candidate Joe Biden's Post op-ed puts out his plan and takes on John McCain's foolish Iraq position:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/11/AR2007041102119_pf.html

I happen to agree 100% with Biden on the proposal of a federation--my suggestion would be four regions, with Baghdad itself being the fourth, federal entity.
It doesn't matter now, though; our ability to direct an outcome is gone, and the Shiites have locked onto power.
The surge was a well-crafted piece of politico-military tactics; its greatest virtue was that it couldn't be stopped. And so it has not. The debate must inevitably resolve around the consensus position rapidly emerging:
1) end to combat operations before November, 2008;
2) general withdrawal in progress by January, 2009.
The Republican party will support this series of developments; almost any other would doom them in the elections.

The Democratic candidates can live with this outcome, in that it will leave them a relatively free hand. I trust Carl Levin & Co. to come up with the proper language through the appropriations process to sufficiently tie the Bushite hands down the road 12 months or so.

They can take advantage of this freedom both now, in terms of proposing policies unlikely to come to pass as per Sen. Biden (in this case, because of Bushite blockheadedness), and later, in having the ability to choose between four options: go back in (for some reason I can't imagine but would involve specific Al Qaeda cells), pull further back, remain at a low level, or get the hell outta Dalmiya.
America Coming Together

I posted the above response to Biden's editorial on TPM Cafe. The effort to change the mind of the President has now become the effort to change the mind of John McCain. This is much as it had to be: there is no chance of the former. McCain's conversion to agreement on an implicit date to end the surge and begin partial withdrawal, which could be embodied in the time restrictions placed upon expenditures, would be the political compromise which could resolve this slow motion train-wreck. Right now the Bush Administration, even in its new guise as pragmatists, would not agree to sign such strings on appropriations legislation; that is where the need for negotiated progress will be critical.