Defeat

Make no mistake about it, to use the words of President Drone, despite the blathering bullshit coming from the White House, the obvious truth is that the US suffered a disastrous defeat in Iraq, only Vietnam was worse in the post WWII period. With Afghanistan soon to follow, the end of the Bush/Cheney strategy of massive military presence is over.

Obama's drone wars are certainly cheaper, but ineffective for anything but domestic politics. You can't make allies by just blowing things and people up as Libya will soon prove. As the economic breakdown continues, it too will fade into the background.

Part of the current posturing on Iran is related to the flip side of the US defeat in Iraq, Iran's victory. We can also speculate that the current meeting in Pakistan is to make sure they're on board with continued pressure on Iran, and not really about the 'Haqqani network'.

So now the US has a giant embassy in Baghdad with 16,000 employees and no military support. How long do you think that will last?