No Magic Bullet In Iraq

There may be no magic bullet that guarantees success in Iraq, but keeping our resolve and giving our generals, and our troops, the time and tools they need to complete the mission will help ensure that success.

The new U.S. military strategy in Iraq, unveiled six months ago to little acclaim, is working.

In two weeks of observing the U.S. military on the ground and interviewing commanders, strategists and intelligence officers, it's apparent that the war has entered a new phase in its fifth year.

It is a phase with fresh promise yet the same old worry: Iraq may be too fractured to make whole.

No matter how well or how long the U.S. military carries out its counterinsurgency mission, it cannot guarantee victory.

Only the Iraqis can. And to do so they probably need many more months of heavy U.S. military involvement. Even then, it is far from certain that they are capable of putting this shattered country together again.

It's been an uphill struggle from the start to build Iraqi security forces that are able to fight and—more importantly at this juncture—able to divorce themselves from deep-rooted sectarian loyalties. It is the latter requirement—evenhandedness and reliability—that is furthest from being fulfilled.

There is no magic formula for success.

If left to the mainstream media, we would already have lost this war, heck, they're still telling people we have. I knew it was just a matter of time before reports started coming in, from Iraq, that carried positive news.

Our nephew Chris will be shipping out for Iraq in just about a month. He is one of those who has answered his country's call, and is proud to serve in our nation's military.

Godspeed to him and all of the other men and women of our Armed Forces, who know the only formula that will work is loyalty and determination. Hopefully some of that proves to rub off on the Iraqi forces.