The new policy advocated by seventy-five senators is decentralized federalism or soft partition, depending on who's describing it.

To get an idea of the risks and difficulties, read this Brookings report on how "soft partition" might be implemented.

But a "soft partition under a hard fist," a "hard partition" or an outright military victory are not the only scenarios.

Second is the Lebanon model, where you have a soft partition under an iron fist.

The best answer, then, is soft partition: create a central government with a few key powers; reinforce strong regional governments; separate the sectarian groups as much as possible.

The third step in a soft partition would be the relocation of peoples.

The most serious objection to soft partition is that the Sunni and Shiite populations are too intermingled in Baghdad and elsewhere to really separate.

In short, logic, circumstances and politics are leading inexorably toward soft partition.

If he's beginning to contemplate soft partition in Iraq, then partition is probably inevitable.

We should perhaps build on the promise of the surge with regional diplomacy or a soft partition, but we certainly should not set timetables for withdrawal.