Has Washington's bubble of optimism about the United States' progress in Iraq been punctured? The signs were there when General David Petraeus, announced a 45-day halt to troop withdrawals from July during highly charged hearings in the Senate in which he faced questions from all three contenders to replace Bush: John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The halt indicates that US strategy was not successful in gaining some sort of military victory.
The hearings showed the deep divide on Iraq between McCain, who favours keeping troops in Iraq until security is established, and the two Democrats (Obama and Clinton) who have sought early withdrawal.
Lets call the situation for what it is . Bush's war on terror is a lost cause. As the war heads towards its second decade, American security policy is in disarray, the Iraq War is a disaster, Afghanistan is deeply insecure and the al-Qaida and Taliban movements remains as potent as ever with new generations of leaders coming to the fore. The New American Century is off to a bad start.
Since the 9/11 attacks, many Western governments have assumed terrorism to be the greatest threat the western nation states face. In response, their policies attempt to maintain control and keep the status quo by using overwhelming military force. The US is the central power and nation states like the UK and Australia fall into line and march the military march.
