An army that runs away from battle will do it again and again. It’s over and most at DOD know it.
it disgusts me that so much american blood was shed there for people who did not appreciate it... and we never went after the iranians who were behind much of the bloodshed caused by the “insurgency”. i’m so tired of all of this nation building nonsense that causes us to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Iraq is not even Iraq any more. It is effectively fractured into three countries, or provincial regions. Kurdistan to the north, a satellite state of Iran to the east, and what is essentially part of the Islamic State comprising most of Anbar province, to the west. There is no national unity fighting FOR Iraq any longer. Lesser ethnic minorities or tribal affiliations are essentially on their own, and have no protectorate or security umbrella under which they may be shielded.
Should the US re-invade Iraq? There is no longer a Saddam Hussein that maintained at least a facade of a national regime, and most of the factions in Iraq has little or no interest in receiving direct military support from the US, proven to be a most unreliable partner, and subject to withdrawal at any moment, on a whim or on the least whiff of political incorrectness.
“Stay the course” is an attitude long since abandoned.