Newsweek Columnist Claims U.S. to be in Iraq for 10 Years

Michael Hirsh of Newsweek has a column online in which he argues that what most Democratic and Republican candidates for president aren't realizing is that the approach the new commander of U.S. forces in Iraq is pursuing could mean American soldiers will be in Iraq for up to 10 additional years. According to a military source that is quoted in the article, the U.S. is pursuing a "classic counterinsurgency" strategy. This involves moving American troops out from four main "superbases" to 160 smaller bases where they can interact with the Iraqi population. It also means that American troops are taking the lead in dealing the insurgents instead of Iraqi troops.

There are a couple of points that need to be kept in mind when reading this article. One is that apparently the Bush administration has wasted not only 3,000+ American lives and billions of American dollars, but also about four years of time. We could have been pursuing this strategy from the beginning of the armed resistance, but instead this administration's incompetence meant that the wrong tactics were being used. George W. Bush has put us in deep shit.