A grim milestone: As of Monday, 4,000

American soldiers have been killed in Iraq.

Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, France

Iraq War to Last Through Two

More U.S. Presidential Terms …

"Only President Bush still dares to speak of 'victory,' while congratulating himself for his 'good decision' taken in March 2003. But as the Bush era ends, the question that matters concerns the intentions of his successor."

By Jean-Claude Kiefer

Translated By Philippe Guittard

March 23, 2008

France - Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace - Home Page (French)

Tens of thousands of Iraqis killed, millions of refugees, nearly 4,000 American soldiers killed in daily attacks, a country devastated ... and, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, a bill of direct and indirect costs of $3 trillion which was paid for on credit, and which has greatly contributed to the decline in the dollar! And yet to draw up a complete accounting of five years of war in Iraq is impossible.

Establishing a review of policy at this stage is no longer easy, although we know that the results have been catastrophic: the United States has been discredited; Islamist terrorism is expanding; there is extreme tension throughout the Middle East; the Israeli-Palestinian crisis with Hamas has radicalized Gaza; Iran has been declared a regional power and may soon go nuclear; the regimes of the pro-Western Arab states are shaky; and the major routes of oil - which is already very expensive - are threatened ... And this is not an  exhaustive list! Over the next few years, historians will compliment the tale by noting even more profound mutations. For example, the dominance of Shiite over Sunni Islam and the disappearance of Arab-Christian communities.

Only President Bush still dares to speak of "victory," while congratulating himself for his "good decision" taken in March 2003. But as the Bush era ends, the question that matters concerns the intentions of his successor, knowing that as far as the American public is concerned, that war seems to have passed into the background behind economic concerns.

In the Democratic camp, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton talk of a more-or-less rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops, without going into the condition that Iraq would be left in. Republican candidate John McCain speaks in clear language: an American military presence in Iraq will remain indispensable - if necessary for years. "Until victory," he said in summary.

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His statement is brutal in its frankness: A precipitate withdrawal from Iraq would leave the place open to Iran, which would rapidly extend its influence into the Gulf, then to the west, where Lebanese Hezbullah, Syria and Hamas are already among those loyal to Tehran. Keeping America in Iraq would avoid a new casus belli [cause for war].

In reality, no one in the United States knows how to disengage. A military solution remains elusive and there is no political solution in sight - "democratization" having failed under the blows of terrorism, religious extremism and widespread corruption. So now one stalls ... There's still a long way to go in Iraq, at least until the end of the second term of the next American president.

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US March 25, 1:33am]