The quagmire of liberation gone sour

From the Christian Science Monitor -- A sense of quagmire hovers over the liberation that went sour. Fifteen thousand additional troops to help maintain order will bring the American troop level in Iraq to almost 160,000. That represents 40 percent of the Army's 10 active divisions and dims the hopes of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for an early reorganization of the military into smaller, more agile units.

American GIs are not like the Roman Legions, especially trained to spread order, language, and civilization across the empire. But the role of American forces in Iraq seems to be mutating from liberators to occupiers. And they find it difficult to patrol efficiently from huge tanks.

I feel the United States is not quite ready yet for the role required by Pax Americana, give it a few years.