The "surge" strategy with its success in lowering, though not eliminating, guerrilla and terrorist violence in Iraq, however, followed years in which the Bush administration stubbornly pursued far too many misguided policies, even when it was apparent that they were not leading to success.

Those years of failure cast a lasting shadow even over the partial recovery that occurred under the leadership of Petraeus and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who appointed him. This was in large part because the original reckless promises and claims such as "Mission Accomplished," "Mopping Up," and "A Few Die-Hard Baathists" were not achieved, and even after the success of the surge, they are still not fully forthcoming.

As the atmosphere changed, it became totally acceptable in the United States to describe Iraq not only as a civil war or quagmire -- which it certainly became in 2006 in Baghdad and many other regions -- but also as a total, unmitigated disaster. The term "debacle" was frequently used. However, the results of the surge strategy discredited this sweeping generalization as well.

Now, this characterization is extreme and clearly incorrect; at least for the moment. Related to military affairs, the term "debacle" means the end, final defeat. The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 when British and Prussian forces defeated the army of French Emperor Napoleon was the final debacle of the Napoleonic dream. The signing of the unconditional surrender in May 1945 represented the debacle of Nazi Germany at the hands of the Grand Alliance of the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the debacle of the French colonial era in Indochina in 1954.

Manifestly, in Iraq, the armed forces of the United States in mid-2009 are not at that point. President George W. Bush agreed at the end of 2008 to the demands of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that all U.S. combat forces be evacuated from Iraq by the end of 2011. President Obama appears determined to honor that commitment and possibly even speed it up.

Clearly, the United States in mid-2009 is not in a debacle situation in Iraq. Its forces have not surrendered. They have yet to run. They have not been routed. The current plan is for them to leave in an orderly fashion and to hand over full security responsibilities to the more than 630,000 members of the Iraq army and police force.

Part 2: The state of Iraq in 2009

(Paolo Liebl von Schirach is the editor of SchirachReport.com, a regular contributor to Swiss radio and an international economic-development expert.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

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