BAGHDAD (AP) — The United States is now winning the war that two years ago seemed lost.
Limited, sometimes sharp fighting and periodic terrorist bombings in Iraq are likely to continue, possibly for years. But the Iraqi government and the U.S. now are able to shift focus from mainly combat to mainly building the fragile beginnings of peace — a transition that many found almost unthinkable as recently as one year ago.
Despite the occasional bursts of violence, Iraq has reached the point where the insurgents, who once controlled whole cities, no longer have the clout to threaten the viability of the central government.
That does not mean the war has ended or that U.S. troops have no role in Iraq. It means the combat phase finally is ending, years past the time when President Bush optimistically declared it had. The new phase focuses on training the Iraqi army and police, restraining the flow of illicit weaponry from Iran, supporting closer links between Baghdad and local governments, pushing the integration of former insurgents into legitimate government jobs and assisting in rebuilding the economy.
Scattered battles go on, especially against al-Qaida holdouts north of Baghdad. But organized resistance, with the steady drumbeat of bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and ambushes that once rocked the capital daily, has all but ceased. - The Associated Press
It's still not a matter of winning or losing -- it is about what the Iraqi people want. Refer to Noam Chomsky for more.
As much as we like Chomsky's reasoning, the government isn't listening to him. They're gonna continue funding the war in Iraq, and there's not a chance of withdrawal until sometime after Bush leaves.
ReplyDeleteWhen Chomsky said, "the people" he meant literally the common civilians, just like over here. He didn't mean our instituted government.
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