Most U.S. military officers on the ground sincerely believe that we have reached a tipping point where we are killing enough insurgents that their will to fight is being sapped. But the death toll from insurgent strikes during the last two days calls into question that confidence. It is worth recalling that in Vietnam we killed close to 1 million North Vietnamese while we suffered 57,000 fatalities.
Within the ethos of the tribal culture in Iraq, seeking revenge on those who have wronged you or your family is a mission that can span centuries. The folks we are fighting have a much longer attention span than we do.
My friend, recently back from Iraq, sees little chance that new Iraqi Government will opt for a non-sectarian solution to the security crisis. That leaves us two bad options--killing Sunnis or getting out.
Either choice does not strengthen our policy in the Middle East.
From
The Elusive Iraqi Tipping Point by Larry Johnson
More at the link:
http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/01/the_elusive_ira.htmlNo good can ever come from the many crimes Bush and the neoconsters have committed in Iraq.
To allow even another American to be wounded or killed there is unconscionable and ridiculous.
What we do once we get every American citizen - military, mercenary, corporatist, whatever - out of Iraq, as to begin retribution for Bush's crimes, will occupy us for the next several decades, if not longer.
Peace.