The Bush administration is hyping their "fasttracked plan"... which, incidentally, entails more dicking around with US troops in Iraq until at least the end of 2005... and yet another US appointed/juryrigged "transitional government", with no real democracy for nearly two years. Perhaps it's worth pointing out that they've already burned through seven months, over 85 Billion dollars, and nearly 500 coalition soldiers already. Cluehammer to Bush -- the meter is running.
And even then, you'd be hardpressed to find anyone in Iraq who thinks that US forces won't try turning "postwar" Iraq into a "strategic partner", complete with military bases. I think it was turningtables who said that it sure looked like they were building US facilities to be around for a long, long time.
"There is no decision to pull out early, indeed quite the contrary..."
- Donald Rumsfeld, Nov. 14, 2003
The real problem is that the US cannot stop the attacks... ever. They will continue for decades if necessary; all the coalition can hope for is to decrease their frequency and lethality.
Ultimately, this conflict isn't just about defeating Saddam's "deadenders". It's not about defeating al-Qaeda or Syrians or Iranians or Iraqi nationalists or Iraqi Sunnis or Iraqi Shi'ite radicals or Taleban or Hezbollah. Nope. It's about defeating all of the above. US troops in Iraq might as well be wearing large, iridescent "kick me" signs on their backs, as far as that region of the world is concerned. Even if the US won over the hearts of 99% of the people, that would still leave 300,000 potential enemies in just Iraq alone, not to mention the rest of the Muslim world. You can't "win" that kind of war with any tactic short of genocide. Just ask the Israelis...
