Originally Posted by martinguerre

I honestly think we may have passed the f$cked no matter what point in that country. we have no hope of a meaningful multinational reconstruction, and the insurgency was allowed to grow and fester in the critical first months. all the stupid grandstanding cost us time we didn't have, and by the time the UN withdrew after the bagdad bombing...

i really don't know if it is possible to salvage the situation in iraq. our troop levels are too low to keep order, but the occupation already is straining our military to the seams. the UK is pulling it's troops home or to afganistan (which is on the brink of total collapse...)

it's pretty scary to me, but i think the cause of a free and democratic iraq may have been f$cked over.