As of the writing of this book (spring 2006), the world remains an unsettled place. The war in Iraq continues and although the United States has attempted to turn over control of provinces and cities to American-trained Iraqi security forces, insurgency attacks on Iraqi police and military recruiting stations continue to take hundreds of lives. As yet there is no stabilized government in the country, although the Iraqi people elected a parliament in December 2005. Squabbling over the replacement of a new prime minister continues to set back the process of forming a stabilized governing body. U.S. forces are for the most part now kept in the background and used only to support Iraqi forces when fighting requires their presence, although U.S. troops periodically patrol the streets of major cities.
Iraq is a dangerous place for American troops and the Iraqi people. IEDs blow up on a daily basis and suicide bombers cause havoc by destroying Shiite and Sunni mosques and other sites where people gather in large numbers. It is apparent that the insurgents intend to fight the formation of an Iraqi government with any and all means at their disposal. This could eventually lead to a civil war. Presently, there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Unless the Iraqis can effectively take control of their country, American forces might remain in country for years to come. At this time there are approximately 133,000 U.S. troops (Army and Marine Corps, of which 10 percent are women) on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, supported by U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard units.
The question now facing the United States is whether Congress and the American people will stay in Iraq and Afghanistan for the long haul and allow our gallant young military men and women to finish their mission; that is, to support the successful establishment of a democracy in Iraq.