Not Winning In Iraq
Robert Gates, the nominee to replace Donald Rumsfeld as US Defence secretary has said that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq. It is true of course, but the Bush administration used to refuse that American troops may fail to establish order and democratic institutions in post Saddam Iraq.
I think this is the first time when top U.S. government official acknowledges that the American strategy in Iraq gone the wrong way. Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mr. Gates said that he is “open to a wide range of ideas and proposals”.
He warned that the Iraq war may provoke a “regional conflagration” and said a new strategy is necessary. As many others among the Republicans Mr. Gates called current situation is unacceptable.
I remember that the Democratic candidate for president Senator John Kerry said in one of the TV debates in 2004 presidential campaign that he would bring more countries on the table in effort to resolve the crisis in Middle East. As far as I remember, he mentioned France and Germany as a partners that he believed may join the U.S. in effort to support democratic change in Iraq.
Probably the time when the U.S. would find an unilateral solution of the internal Iraq war has ended.
