This is a tiny thing, but it speaks to a much bigger problem.

Iraqslogger has a very interesting comment on the Iraqi National Soccer team's success at the Asia Cup.

While the Iraqi and Western media are pouring flattery and good-wishes upon the national team. Many ignore the fact that this may be the last Iraqi team to compete seriously on the international scene for some time. While Iraq is achieving victories in Asia, the soccer federation in the country is in disarray and fraught with divisions, the league cannot be held under the current security conditions, and was replaced with a mini-competition held exclusively in Iraqi Kurdistan. At the same time, Iraqi youth today are receiving a mere fraction of the resources and training that was available to their older peers.

I know that's a small thing, but the same can be said of far more critical areas.

The exodus of doctors and lawyers, engineers and professionals will never be fully reversed, and the mechanisms for teaching and training the next generation of professionals has mostly broken down in the urban areas. How many future doctors are being lost to the violence?

How long will the Iraqis suffer for this?