Retired US Army General Barry McCaffrey, military news commentator and Adjunct Professor at West Point, recently returned from Iraq after meetings with military and political leaders, and has reported his findings. McCaffrey has been generally independent in his evaluations of the war effort, and has no political ax to grind. His frank and analytical assessment is illuminating on what must be done now to achieve some measure of victory. The following is a summary of his report.The Current SituationIraq is embroiled in a low intensity civil war, which is slowly worsening. As many as 3000 of its citizens are murdered every month, and many people are desperate. Although we have killed and arrested and huge numbers of insurgents they continue to regenerate their numbers. Their sophistication and lethality increase even while incurring staggering losses. Meanwhile, US domestic support for the war has dissipated, and many Americans now think the war was a mistake. Congress now is fixated on...(Read Full Post)