Despite US increasing troop numbers, patrolling streets, crackdown on militants - rising violence in Iraq mocks at US claims to quell violence and now US plans to elongate its stay in Iraq until 2009, which makes everyone apprehensive whether US be able to achieve peace and stability that it had failed to attain so far?
Troop casualties have put immense pressure on Bush for the troop withdrawal at home and civilian casualties have spread distrust among Iraqis against US forces. Still Bush is adamant to stay in Iraq, ridiculous!
Nevertheless, to prolong stay in Iraq has many reasons and the cardinal one is Bush doesn’t want to provide al-Qaeda a safe heaven again that it had lost in Iraq or Afghanistan and that too at a crucial time when US is planning to strike on al-Qaeda in Pakistan. Secondly, at the end of his career, Bush doesn’t want to prove Iraqi war a wrong decision through immediate withdrawal, particularly when he has the option to leave the controversial decision on the next president.
However, will this elongated stay be fruitful? Thats a debatable question because after four years arduous efforts, US has failed at all fronts to eradicate al-Qaeda and subdue lethal violence. Extremists are still fueling violence unabatedly with the support from Iran, which US says is arming Shiite militant groups, and Syria, on the other side, is sheltering and allowing suicide bombers to cross into Iraq. If terrorists will be receiving support from Iraqi neighbors in future as well, it’ll be too difficult for US to extract deemed denouement against militants.
Well, hazard to relinquish Iraq are imminent, but US stay is not making the things better in Iraq or Afghanistan either. US neither has reason nor credibility to stay in Iraq in name of ‘war on terror‘, because violence goes unabated and is mounting with each passing day.
Nonetheless, the US plan, no doubt, will provide Iraqi politicians ample time to make head way for their national reconciliation and will help Iraqi soldiers to go through the training under US troops to face any upheavals after the withdrawal.
