On the Horns of a Dilemma

So, on the one hand, if we "stay the course" in Iraq, "surging" the number of troops on the ground, we simply (continue to) try to put out the fire by pouring gasoline on it. The Iraqis don't want us there, they regard us as an occupying rather than a liberating force, and our very presence is incendiary. A bigger presence only fuels a bigger flame.

On the other hand, we can't just walk away. "You break it, you bought it" applies here as it does in a china shop. We can't break their country, destroy the institutions and the infrastructure, and leave with nary an "Oops, my bad."

So here's a modest proposal to unstick us from the horns of this dilemma:

1. Get out, as quickly as possible. ("Leave now, and never come back!")
   
2. Apologize for our mistakes. (I'm not saying removing Saddam Hussein from power was necessarily a mistake, but going in with no idea of what to do next, and subsequently destroying the country, was one for the record books. "Here's yer sign.")
3. Give all the money we're spending on the war to the United Nations, and commit to doing so for the next 20 years, so that they can do whatever they have to do to put the pieces back together. ("Ouch, baby! Very ouch..." -- but we would be paying that price, and so much more, if we stay.)
   

Not so coincidentally, this approach has all the elements of the Roman Catholic Act of Contrition:

O MY GOD,
I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins,
because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell;
but most of all because they offend Thee, my God,
Who art all-good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace,
to confess my sins, to do penance,
and to amend my life.
Amen.

We apologize.
We confess.
We do penance.
And we change our life.

I'll bet it works for countries as well as it does for people.