Why is the war in Iraq taking so long?

Why the Iraq War is Taking So Long

2006

In March 2003 , the United States invaded Iraq based on the assumption of stockpiling or potential sale of Weapons of Mass Destruction (FAQ about Iraq . After the fall of Saddam Hussein , and President Bush declaring major operations complete , The National Intelligence Council announced that Iraq was the new breeding ground for terrorism , focusing war efforts in Iraq to the war on terror (Priest , A01 . Later that year President Bush stated that the new reason for Iraq was to protect its oil fields

from falling into the hands of terrorists (Loven . Unlike many wars in the past , the United States has put themselves into a unique position of perpetual fighting in Iraq with no end in sight

The reason for the prolonged involvement in Iraq , which has now lasted longer then their involvement in the invasion of Germany , is due to two major factors . First is their lack of goal setting and benchmarks with a decisive end where the US can finally declare a true victory and leave , and secondly is due to their lack of planning for the post-invasion of Iraq (FAQ About Iraq

During the final stages of planning leading up to the invasion in Iraq planners could not provide any written plan , nor showed signs of one in development for the post-war efforts in stabilizing Iraq , providing security , government restructuring , or reconstruction efforts Furthermore , the administration ignored requests from its military to provide an additional 100 ,000 troops which the Army advisors felt were required to restore and help reconstruct the country which would be devastated by war (Strobel and Walcott

This lack of planning affected the United States and coalition forces from the early stages of the invasion as they began to lose momentum To compound the lack of initiative after the fall of Saddam , with the unexpected drive of a resistant population , the military began to play catch-up which they never recovered from (Ricks , A01

Not only was the Bush Administration ill prepared for any logistical steps in the reconstruction , it was apparent that they were not prepared for the length of operations and financial costs . Weeks prior to the invasion in Iraq , Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz commented to a House subcommittee regarding the 30 billion the US had spend in the past 12 years in Iraq , stating , I can 't imagine anyone here wanting to spend another 30 billion to be there another 12 years (Pincus , A01 These occurrences in the lack of planning or understanding of the potential commitment required in Iraq shows that the administration did not have a fundamental understanding of the history and social structure of Iraq , nor ready to commit to the long-term reconstruction of Iraq (FAQ about Iraq

All wars have a decisive end , such as the fall of the Nazi government the surrender of Japan , and the armistice agreement in Korea . Unlike previous wars , President Bush has yet to set a benchmark in the Iraq war which...