Beirut, Lebanon - By the end of 2007, the American presence in Iraq, despite much fiddling and fidgeting, will be basically the same as it is today. 2008 wont be much different.
It was always easier to check into Iraq than to check out. The likelihood that a chain of sectarian wars in Iraq and the Middle East might follow an American departure, that Iran would take advantage of a U.S. withdrawal to expand its influence in the Gulf, and that the United States could not live down a defeat in Iraq, means that America is probably locked into a conflict there for many years to come.
Remember, Richard Nixon won the 1968 presidential election on a platform of withdrawing from Vietnam. The last American soldier left on April 30, 1975, almost seven years later. There are never easy solutions for superpowers.
Please e-mail PostGlobal if you'd like to receive an email notification when PostGlobal sends out a new question.
