John McCain says that the Pentagon is considering sending up to 10 Army combat brigades to Iraq, or about 35,000 more troops at most, although he acknowledges that only a small minority of Americans now support such a move.
The Army and Army Reserve are stretched so thin that some units are being rotated back to Iraq for a third time, although observers say that this state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue without long-term repercussions in the U.S.’s ability to meet global military challenges.
There is a growing consensus that the presence of U.S. troops is fueling the civil war and insurgency, although the Iraqi government acknowledges that the country would be further destabilized if they withdrew.
The Iraqi army will assume primary responsibility for security in Baghdad beginning early next year and most U.S. troops will be withdrawn to the periphery, although it is widely understood that the Iraqi army has difficulty tying its own boots, let alone playing a major role in anything.
President Bush continues to declare that “victory� is the U.S.’s goal, although most close observers of the war acknowledge that winning it in the traditional sense is no longer possible.