IRAQ

Asiatimes: The consequences of invasion

Even given that there may have been considerable justification for removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq because he was a notorious despot and a vicious murderer, it is probably time to step back and attempt to take a clear look at the strategic implications of what America has got itself into with its invasion of Iraq.

Pro and anti-Bush partisans in the United States are making it increasingly hard to break through the static. But it is imperative that before it is too late, American policymakers, both in the administration and the Congress, put aside their partisan squabbling to examine the possibility that the US is trapped as it was trapped in Vietnam 30 years ago, or as the Russians are today in Chechnya.