The only way to win the peace following a war is to leave an overwhelming military force in place for many, many years after the war is over. History repeatedly proves this fact. That is why Germany, Japan and South Korea are now peaceful, free and democratic countries and why South Vietnam no longer exists and Iraq and Libya have fallen into anarchy.
I am not saying that Iraq would now be a peaceful, free and democratic county if we had maintained large military bases for decades after the war was over. I am saying that there was no possibility of Iraq being a peaceful, free and democratic country if we did not.
The next time this country decides to nation build somewhere else, we need to either commit to a decades long occupation up front or stay home.
The kids loved us and admired everything American. You may have read that Iraq was one of the biggest markets for the film American Sniper, reportedly because it demonstrated in unmistakable terms the US was able to get rid of the bad guys.
With time those kids would have as quickly as kids can grow, transitioned from a narrow tribal mentality and would have claimed their future as individuals. In the interim, it was our challenge to provide a reasonably stable and healthy environment that nurtured that process.