NOW can we call it a quagmire?

Below Jazz asked: NOW can we call it a civil war?. Apparently two-thirds of Americans call it one or the other or both. Maybe this is one of the reasons why.
Fanatics lay claim to separate Sunni state

An alliance of Sunni insurgent groups claimed yesterday to be establishing a separate Sunni state in the west of Iraq in the latest demonstration of the growing fragmentation of the country.

The statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella organisation of fanatical Sunni groups that includes al-Qa'eda, is the first time a Sunni body has supported the break-up of Iraq.

It said the move was in response to the passing by the Iraqi parliament last week of a federalism law which would permit provinces to join together to form self-ruling regions. That is expected to result in the creation of a semi-autonomous Shia zone in the south, similar to the Kurdish state in the north.

A separate Sunni state was needed to protect itself from such an eventuality, the insurgent group said.

It would appear that the country is breaking itself apart and there is nothing the US or the puppet Iraqi government can do about it.

Regardless of what happens in the midterm elections Bush's misadventure in Iraq is coming to a close. After the elections he will give lame duck new meaning. His hold on the Republican lawmakers will be gone and the Republicans will want the debacle in Iraq off the table by 2008.