Anthony Cordesman, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has written a fascinating paper, "Six Long Wars and Counting", which does not forecast a resounding success for us in the Middle East: "The US can lose quickly in some cases, but it cannot win quickly in any." Nor does he expect us to be out soon: "Almost regardless of level of violence involved, all of these conflicts now promise to involve religious, ideological, political, and perceptual struggles that will play out over at least a decade."
The six wars to which Cordesman refers are Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Palestine, Lebanon and the war on terrorism. In none of these cases can we act unilaterally; "success depends on international and local partners." (my emphasis)
He does not hold out much hope for either the administration or the Congress; "There are no good, quick or simple answers to any of the conflicts the US faces, but the importance of patient, bipartisan realism (my emphasis) is easy to illustrate." Cordesman believes that the upcoming elections reinforce our current partisanship; "Truth may be the first casualty of war, but it is the national interest that is the first casualty of domestic politics." The unseating of incumbents that occurred yesterday could be a start back towards realistic bipartisanship.
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