Why We Cannot Win In Iraq

In calling for an American withdrawal, Edward Luttwak makes the following point in Foreign Policy. It is not anti-American or reactionary; it is simply the truth of the matter. If you disagree with this assessment, please make an intelligent argument against it in military terms. Do not use slogans. I am curious to see this issue argued on purely military terms.

While the U.S. armed forces are formidable against enemies assembled in massed formations, they are least effective at fighting insurgents. Insurgents strive to be especially elusive, and as targets diminish, so does the value of American firepower. This was demonstrated in Vietnam in many different was over many years and is unnecessarily being proven all over again in Iraq, damaging the reputation of the United States, wasting vast amounts of money, inflicting added suffering on Iraqis at large, and taking the lives of young Americans, whose sacrifice, one fears, will soon be deemed futile.