The war in Iraq has all the looks of becoming the biggest disaster for the US since the Vietnam war. Its overwhelming air superiority did win it the war, but from then on it has just been going down.
The US lost the moral high ground which it had assumed during the campaign after Abu Ghariab. It soon became apparent that it would also lose in fulfilling its avowed objectives - that of bringing democracy and peace to Iraq - and now it seems clear that it would also have to make an undignified exit. It has not reached the stage where people will have to be airlifted out of the US embassy roof, but seems to be getting there.
Earlier this year a surge in the number of ground troops had been touted as the panacea to the problems the US was facing in Iraq. The surge took place with nearly 25000 troops finding their way to Iraq. But the problems remain as bad as ever. People continue to die in sectarian conflict everyday. The Iraqi police and military seems to be nowhere near being competent enough to handle the problems on their own and the infrastructure seems to have completely gone to pieces following the war and occupation.
Meanwhile US troop casualties have continued to mount. Now AP reports that the US military would focus on reducing the number of troops in Iraq in 2008, coupled with training for the Iraqi personnel.
Though the exact timing of the withdrawals have not been finalized yet, it is speculated that the additional troops that were sent to Iraq this year would be withdrawn by summer next year. It is not yet clear whether the troops would be reduced further.
President Bush who had till now strongly opposed the idea of a climb down, is also indicating that he would give his consent to a troop reduction.
It seems clear that the US would now look to extricate itself from the quagmire that Iraq has turned into as soon as possible. UK has already made known its intent to withdraw its troop from Iraq in the near future. But with their withdrawal Iraq would be left to the militias, as the Iraqi force seems nowhere near capable enough to contain them. And what havoc they would play, that is still hidden in the womb of the future.
via AP
image from here
