The American Conservative has the perfect analogy for Congress' perpetual blaming of the Iraqi government for Mess-o-potamia.
Our local newspaper recently printed comments from our esteemed senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester. Responding to General Petraeus's report, both roundly denounced the hapless Iraqi government for, as Max put it, "failing to do what they need to do and that is stand on their own two feet." Tester chimed in with the requisite paean: "While our troops are performing magnificently, the Iraqi government is making no progress at all."
The political expediency of this formula is obvious, but the mindset it reveals could not be more disturbing. It's as if you set your neighbor's house on fire, loaned him your garden hose to put it out, then blamed him for the damage to the neighborhood when he was unable to put out the fire you started.
