New Policy Review

From the new issue:

"The united states has just fought two wars against enemies thought to be difficult to defeat and has won decisively, rapidly, and with minimal loss of life. The military performance in both cases was impressive. With virtually no American troops on the ground in Afghanistan, U.S. forces aided by local Afghan militias destroyed the Taliban government and shattered the al Qaeda bases and infrastructure that had been used to plan and prepare the September 11 attacks. In Iraq one British, one U.S. Marine, and two U.S. Army divisions, supported by advanced precision-guided munitions, sufficed to crush both the Iraqi army and Saddam Hussein’s regime in a matter of weeks.

In both cases, the U.S. has been far less successful in winning the peace than it was in winning the war. In Iraq, the widespread looting and rioting that followed the collapse of the Baathist regime and the disorder that continued for weeks to rage in many parts of the country, including Baghdad, badly tarnished the image of the American occupying forces. It hindered U.S. efforts to establish a new, stable Iraqi regime that commands the loyalty of the Iraqi people. "

While in europe, amongst the haters, the envious, and amongst people other than the french, i got the impression the whole exercise has been a waste. The US has been great at winning the war and getting rid of a tyrant. They don't seem to really have a plan for the after-war period.

I'm inclined to see where the country is a year from now before any rush to judgement. the US isn't going anywhere for a while and there is no reason to judge this iraq business on 4 months of occupation. Let the new empire get its footing right, and lets see if they can shape this country up. its only been a few months. japan and germany took years. Here's the newest from the economist on the iraq situation.