Hey, your face is really plain, isn’t it?

The redoubtable news feed that is Terry Hastings points us toward this WSJ editorial concerning the ISG, which dubs the recommendations set forth by the committee worthy of Captain Obvious:

Recognizing this reality would produce some truly interesting and radical recommendations.

Since Iran and Syria are the most important source of the chaos in Iraq, then we need to topple those regimes. They won’t agree to help us, because doing so does not and never will serve their interests. So we have to replace them with governments that do share our interests–or at least, with governments that will stay out of our way.

Then, since the Shiite militias are the leading edge of Iranian influence in Iraq, we have to act to dismantle them now–and not wait for approval from the Iraqi government. We should grasp that the Iraqi government’s approval and disapproval on this issue simply doesn’t matter, because if we don’t take down the militias, there will be no Iraqi government left.

Instead of pointing to the bad results in Iraq and simply declaring that we must achieve better results–which is all that the ISG report really amounts to–we have to identify the real root of the problem: the regimes in Iran and Syria, and the Shiite militias they support. And then we need to dig up that root.

We’ll know we’re really making progress in talking about Iraq when that recommendation is seen as being as obvious as it really is.

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.

Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung.

Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game

It’s easy.

There’s nothing you can make that can’t be made.

No one you can save that can’t be saved.

Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be in time

It’s easy.

All you need is love, all you need is love,

All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.

All you need is love, all you need is love,

All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known.

Nothing you can see that isn’t shown.

Nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be.

It’s easy.

All you need is love, all you need is love,

All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

All you need is love (all together now)

All you need is love (everybody)

All you need is love, love, love is all you need.