In Iraq it's hard to keep the players straight without a scorecard.

All the Shiite militias in Iraq (except for Sadr's) trained in Iran. There, they were helped/armed/trained by our CIA. Badr militia (trained in Iran) is really the Iraq Army as well as the fiefdom of the ruling Iraqi political party. And it was Iran that brokered the peaceful resolution of the Maliki /Sadr battle in Basra.

When the President of Iran visited Iraq the other week it was a state visit and the man was kissed on both cheeks by al Maliki.

So...to review..CIA /Iran trains all Iraq Shiite militias except for the Sadr one. Our man in Baghdad (that would be Patreaus) says the Iranians are troublemakers and are behind Sadr, AQ and the roadside bombs.

Our other man in Baghdad (al Maliki) loves the Iranian ruling party.

So, sometimes the Iranians are our allies and sometimes they are our enemies. Confusing ? Big Question: Why did we build such a deadly house of cards in Iraq?

Possible answer:

There's no logic to what Team Bush does. As the crazy but smart like a fox Chalabi noted to author Mark Danner: "The American tragedy in Iraq is that your friends in Iraq are allied with your enemies in the region, and your enemies in Iraq are allied with your friends in the region."