Today being St. Patrick's Day, I thought I might write a bit about Ireland. But then I started thinking, how can you think about Ireland on the fourth anniversary of the Iraq invasion.

I found a way.

We've gotten ourselves into such a deep hole in Iraq and the Mideast that it's a lot like trying to find one of those backwoods stones in Ireland.

It's hard to believe it's been four years.

More than 3,000 American troops dead.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed.

Tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers injured or maimed.

And in the complex world of Muslim and Mideast politics, we're still not sure who should win this civil war of our making or how we are going to get out of it.

The Sunnis? The Shiites? Get out now? 2008? Never?

Finding an easy solution to our quandary in Iraq reminds me of our search for the Turoe Stone during our trip to Ireland last year. The stone, theoretically, is in eastern County Gallway, between Athenry and Loughrea.

We hadn't planned to be as far south as Killarney to see the well-known Blarney Stone, but we noticed on a map that there was an iron-age stone somewhere near Kiltullagh. As if we hadn't seen enough stone already in the Burren, we foolishly set out to find the Turoe Stone.

Supposedly, this stone dates from before the Christian era, stands about three feet high and has meaningful Celtic designs carved into its surface.

Finally, near Bullaun, we actually saw a sign saying the stone was 10k down this narrow road. In Ireland, all the roads are narrow; this one was even more so. It was difficult enough getting by oncoming vehicles, but driving on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road, well "¦

Add to that the fact that there's rarely a place a pull over because the back roads are lined with hedges or stone walls.

But we didn't have to worry about meeting a bus, or a lot of other traffic, for that matter. It seemed like we were the only people looking for the stone.

At the end of that road, there was another sign pointing stone-seekers to the left. We drove a little farther, and finally I asked if we really wanted to see the rock that much.

"We're never going to find it,'' I said. I don't think there really is a stone. It's all a trick they play on visitors.''

"Sure, we've come this far,'' she said. "We can't turn back now.''

Yes, we can, I insisted. All we have to do is stop the car before it gets any more serious damage from this pinstripe of a road. We can turn around and go back the way we came _ or, better yet, find a different route so we don't hit the same potholes.

But just when she yielded to my logic, visibly disappointed, another sign for that bloody stone appeared on the right.

With a surge of delight, she shouted, "look, turn right here.''

OK, we'll go find the stone, and, sure enough, just a short distance down the road, there it was, the sign announcing the Turoe Stone.

Nobody was around what appeared to be a farm, with a nearby petting zoo, of all the things you might expect to find in the middle of nowhere next to an ancient granite rock.

Out of the shadows a farmer approached.

"Hey, there, good day. Where's the stone?'' I asked.

"Oh, you can't see the stone,'' he said, shaking his head.

"Why not,'' she questioned. "We drove miles out of our way.''

"Why, the stone's covered up,'' he said, explaining that because of acid rain or some other environmental issue the authorities had to protect it.

"So, we did drive way out here for nothing,'' I said.

"That you did,'' he declared, "if all you wanted was to see the stone.''

Now what should we do, I was thinking, when she suggested that we should stay until we could see the stone.

"I don't know,'' I replied. "I think we should leave now, but if we wait, it should only be for a short time.

The farmer spoke up, pointing out that the road back wasn't going to get any smoother or wider than it is right now. "And who knows when they're going to uncover the stone,'' he added.

This debate is crazy, I thought. We need to get outta here now. This is as bad as talking about what to do in Iraq.

The trouble with Iraq is we're not quite sure what we wanted. And now the Democrats aren't sure what they want to do about it.

They were elected to end the war, and now too many don't know how to do it.

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Cary Brunswick, managing editor of The Daily Star, can be reached at (607) 432-1000, ext. 217, or cary@thedailystar.com.