Those who predict "quagmire" in Iraq see a parallel with the Vietnam War. That is misleading. America is going to stay the course in Iraq.
True, the stabilization of the country has proved much harder than the Bush administration expected. In particular, the Pentagon disregarded prewar warnings from the military that force levels would be insufficient for the occupation. U.S. President George W. Bush's press conference two weeks ago would have been more reassuring if he had owned up to these misjudgments.
Currently, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps are thinly stretched. It will be a huge task to ensure enough stability in time for the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30. But unless that transfer takes place, more Iraqis will come to think of Americans as occupiers rather than liberators.