U.S. Army Sgt. Tyler Barriere (left) of the 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division shakes hands with Sgt. Troy Stiner to demonstrate that Ruby, a military working dog assigned to Stiner, will not attack an innocent bystander during a demonstration at the Diwaniyah Police Academy in Diwaniyah, Iraq, on Feb. 9, 2009. The soldiers also conducted an assessment of the academy to ensure they are getting the supplies they need. DoD photo by Senior Airman Eric Harris, U.S. Air Force. (Released)The War In Iraq Isn't Over. The Main Events May Not Even Have Happened Yet. -- Washington Post
In October 2008, as I was finishing my latest book on the Iraq war, I visited the Roman Forum during a stop in Italy. I sat on a stone wall on the south side of the Capitoline Hill and studied the two triumphal arches at either end of the Forum, both commemorating Roman wars in the Middle East.
To the south, the Arch of Titus, completed in 81 A.D., honors victories in Egypt and Jerusalem. To the north, the Arch of Septimius Severus, built 122 years later, celebrates triumphant campaigns in Mesopotamia. The structures brought home a sad realization: It's simply unrealistic to believe that the U.S. military will be able to pull out of the Middle East.
Read more ....
My Comment: Cultures never change over night. It take centuries .... and even then. If it was not for the petroleum deposits in Iraq .... I would say that we should get out. But unfortunately we cannot.
Readers of this blog know that I have always believed that American forces are going to be in Iraq for a very long time. There is too much at stake .... that even American casualties are acceptable when compared to what could happen if U.S. forces are not there.
Thomas E. Ricks believes that low intensity warfare will be a part of Iraqi life for a very long time. I wish that he is wrong, but history is on his side.