Survived another week - barely.  Remember the thing I said about staying the course the least worst idea?  I didn't get until the end of the book till this week - and the moral of the story of the American experience in Iraq is that you cannot possibly turn a country into a democracy by force.  So - going there was bad, and staying there will solve nothing.  Doing the same thing over and over hoping it will get better usually doesn't. 

Long story short - best option would have been to go ''oops'' then pack up and leave - let them sort it out and if they're serious about wanting help they would ask for it. 

How does this lesson translate over?  Well, if you are in a bad situation - either accept it and move on, or do not accept it - try to change it (fairly) and accept the consequences.