Reply #2: The only reason there is even a perception of "overall improved

[coalition_unwilling]

security" is that a)ethnic cleansing is almost complete and b)the Iraqi Resistance chooses not to engage the American military except on terms advantageous to the Resistance at times and places of the Resistance's choosing.

Make no mistake. This is a retreat, not an indication of any progress or victory. At least it is not a "retreat under fire" (one of the most difficult military maneuvers to execute to which Napoleon and Hitler could testify). We have lost almost everything in this imperial boondoggle (our Constitution, our checks and balances, our accountability).

Although I am happy for these 5,000 troops being returned home, their return is emblematic of the massive strategic defeat we have suffered. To the extent that there is any winner here, I suppose it would be Iran and maybe the shareholders of *'s crony capitalist cohort. The American people no less than the Iraqi people are the big losers here.