The U.S. military is fighting the most complex guerrilla war in its history, with 140,000 American soldiers trained for conventional warfare flailing against a thicket of insurgent groups with competing aims and no supreme leader.Just a couple weeks ago, military experts were saying it was reminscient of Stalingrad and Vietnam. Now, it looks worse than Vietnam.
The three dozen or so guerrilla bands agree on little beyond forcing the Americans out of Iraq.
In other U.S. wars, the enemy was clear. In Vietnam, a visible leader - Ho Chi Minh - led a single army fighting to unify the country under socialism. But in Iraq, the disorganized insurgency has no single commander, no political wing and no dominant group.
Thank you, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and the rest of your ideological crew.
They now admit this wasn't an absolutely necessary war, but a war of choice. But they've left us with precious few choices about how to get out without leaving a civil war behind.
By all means, let's stay the course!
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