But if we believe that a circle is a square...

Larry Johnson isn't buying 'Disney-think' (i.e. if we really, really believe, then it will be true), and is troubled by what he calls Odierno's "alarming naiveté about the sectarian rifts in Iraq".

Earnest and well-intentioned ain't going to cut it in Iraq. Someone needs to get that message to the new U.S. ground commander, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno. You see, Odierno wants to fight Iraq with the Iraqis he wished existed rather than the sectarian groups who acutally exist. If he persists believing in an Iraq that does not really exist he will fail.

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According to the Los Angeles Times article by Solomon Moore:

Odierno said another reason for Iraqis' alienation was the tendency of many leaders to be more interested in sectarian interests than the national good of Iraq. "We thought they'd come together rather easily," he said. "We underestimated that…. We thought they'd think Iraq first, and that didn't occur. I think maybe it will occur over time, but it's not occurring now."

So, he believes that the various Sunni and Shia factions will come together and act in a national interest that he believes exists. But the evidence to support such a belief? Zippo. Nada. In fact, the Iraqis cannot even garner a quorum and have not met in more than a month. Why? Because Moktada al-Sadr has withdrawn his supporters from the parliament.