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CIAO DATE: 6/5/2006
Fighting to Win
Frederick W. Kagan
December 2005
Abstract
The United States and coalition allies can be victorious in Iraq if we make clearing and holding the Sunni Triangle a priority, integrate Iraqi soldiers into the fight, and do not lose the political will to defeat the insurgency.
Is retreat from, withdrawal from, or defeat in Iraq inevitable? Almost all opponents of the Bush administration say it is. As Representative John Murtha (D-Pa.) put it in mid-November, when demanding the “immediate redeployment of U.S. troops” consistent with their safety, “The United States cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring the troops home.” This was echoed more recently by Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean: “The idea that we're going to win this war is an idea that, unfortunately, is just plain wrong.” Advocates of withdrawal point to continuing attacks on coalition and Iraqi targets and to the steady, somber flow of U.S. casualties, as well as the increasing fear that our army will break under the strain of prolonged occupation.