Iraq Mission at Risk of Failure without Major Changes

Without significant policy changes made by the Iraqi and U.S. governments, the transition of Iraq to a stable democracy faces increased risk of failure, according to a new report issued by Veterans for Common Sense, a nonpartisan veterans' organization with over 12,000 members who have served in every U.S. conflict since 1941.
“Progress has been made, but we are deeply concerned about the risk of escalation and civil war in Iraq,” said Charles Sheehan-Miles, executive director of the group and primary author of the report.
The report, which examines known information about key insurgent groups in Iraq, criticizes U.S. strategy for placing too little emphasis on protection of the Iraqi public, saying, “In particular, the Iraqi public justifiably believes that the emphasis of U.S. forces is more on capturing and killing insurgents than on protecting the public. Consequently, despite having captured or killed some 15,000 insurgents in the last year, the number of insurgents has grown rather than diminished.”