Iraq

As a US citizen that feels that he is genuinely concerned about the war in Iraq, I can't help but wonder who the war is benefiting.

Is the war benefiting America in the sense that it is making us, as well as the rest of the world, safer from Islamic radicalism? It seems that as the war drags on that our exit is going to be a little less glorified than the proponents had once expected. The birth of new sectarian violence has stifled the infant government and our continued military presence is wearing thin on the already war weary (we're talking a long time) region. As more and more Iraqi citizens (the true losers in this war) die, it seems the military is incapable of doing anything to stifle the influx of "insurgents" and bringing enough calm and stability needed for the fledgling democracy to be effective. Without a strong central government, Al Qaeda will continue to flourish in the region. As long as our military is in the region, it will give cause for new recruits against us, because I believe we are seen as occupiers, not liberators. I think that the visit to Syria to discuss border security was a step in the right direction and that more diplomacy with neighboring countries would do greater good than 20,000 more troops could ever do.

Or is the war benefiting the Iraqi people? It seems that for every American soldier killed in Iraq, many, many more civilians die.

My humble opinion is that the only way Iraq can become a good story, like Bosnia, and not a horror story, like Afghanistan, is through open discussion and diplomacy with the entire Middle East.