Strategypage writes:
In Iraq, it's the corruption that causes the most problems. Your average Iraqi terrorist or gangster is mainly fighting for economic justice. However, the government has been systematically dismissing the auditing officials established (by the American occupation authorities, before the new Iraqi government took over) to expose and block corrupt behavior. The stealing and mismanagement is coming back, and a new dictatorship is usually not far behind. Once corrupt officials get a taste of that stolen oil money, they don't want to give it up. The voters soon feel the pain because of that.
Counter-terror forces are losing momentum, at least if you go by the number of suicide bombings there are in Baghdad (where terrorists prefer to set off their bombs, because the city has the largest number of foreign journalists who will report the explosion world wide.) In September there were 22 bombs. That grew to 28 in October, and is headed for double that number this month. The attacks are mostly against Shia or Kurds, which increases the risks of the anti-Sunni death squads starting up again.
On the one hand, instilling rule of law is becoming the dominant challenge. I've long argued that once battlefield threats are largely defeated, going after corruption is the next phase of the war. If we can make sure that honest elections are held, those Iraqi voters could punish corrupt officials and eventually elect honest men. This will take time and our help for some time. Modern South Korea, Japan, Germany, and Italy didn't evolve from dictatorships to democracies over night.
On the other hand, the terrorists are beaten down but not eliminated. Letting up our combined efforts before the terrorists are crushed completely risks their revival. With Syria and Iran still eager to defeat a prosperous, strong, and pro-American Iraq, foreign support will always be there for such terrorism.
Iraq needs us to stay in Iraq in evolving form for decades to come.
