In the early days of the Iraq reconstruction, under Paul Bremer's CPA, countless opportunities to reconstruct Iraq intelligently were squandered in favor of political cronyism and loyalty to the Bush White House. Instead of vetting reconstruction officials based on experience and know-how, they were vetted based solely on their political compatibility with Bush's re-election campaign.

From today's Washington Post:

O'Beirne's staff posed blunt questions to some candidates about domestic politics: Did you vote for George W. Bush in 2000? Do you support the way the president is fighting the war on terror? Two people who sought jobs with the U.S. occupation authority said they were even asked their views on Roe v. Wade.

After three years of such failures, it's probably too late to rescue Iraq. With every passing day, Iraq starts to look more and more like another Somalia in the making.