Is Another U.S. - Iraq War 'In The Cards'?

An F/A-18E Super Hornet sits on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson at sea, Oct. 16, 2014. The Carl Vinson and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing 17, are deployed supporting maritime security operations, strike operations in Iraq and Syria as directed, and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. The aircraft is assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 81. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class John Philip Wagner, Jr.

Get Ready For Iraq War IV -- John A. Nagl, Foreign Policy

One of the most influential Army officers of the Iraq theater on why the United States seems destined to repeat the mistakes of the past.

The United States is now at war in Iraq for the third time in my lifetime, and after being in the middle of the first two I'm planning to sit this one out.

The first Iraq war was necessary and conducted well, as wars go; the second was unnecessary and conducted poorly at first, but ended up in a reasonable place given what a fiasco it had been at the start. This third war was entirely preventable, caused by a premature departure of U.S. troops after the second. Although it's too soon to say how it will turn out, it is not too early to say that unless we get the endgame right, the United States will fight yet another war in Iraq before too long.

My first Iraq war was Operation Desert Storm, when half a million U.S. troops joined an international coalition to expel Saddam Hussein's army from Kuwait in 1991. Although that war appeared to settle some things at the time, within months of the cease-fire it became clear that Saddam had survived the thrashing we had given his army and was not going to fall to indigenous rebel forces as we had hoped. Instead, we began a decade of containment called Operation Southern Watch, with American war planes flying combat missions around the clock to deter Saddam from further adventurism.

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My Comment: It is no longer just Iraq .... U.S. bombers are now striking targets in Syria .... and places like Libya and Yemen are becoming situations where U.S. forces may become involved. Sadly .... the ground work is now being laid for a U.S. military involvement that will probably last for years. Forget about Iraq War IV .... from my vantage point I see a bigger conflict .... and it may end up being called the Middle Eastern 50 Years War.