Disagreements over the war in Iraq are mounting as the day for submission of the report on Iraq’s security situation approaches.

Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, has said that there will be no “fundamental or quick change” this year in the U.S. policy on Iraq and appealed to the people of the United States to be patient about the Iraq war.
Within the next two weeks, Crocker and U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus are going to submit reports to Congress on whether the strategy of deploying new forces in Iraq has been successful or failed.
The original plan was to evaluate the strategy after the delivery of the Crocker-Petraeus report and then decide whether to continue increasing troops or not. However, now it seems that despite all the objections and failures, the White House wants to prolong the current state of affairs.
There are serious disputes between U.S. officials and military commanders over the war in Iraq.
The White House, the Pentagon, and most of the Republican minority in Congress favor “maximum involvement” in Iraq.
They believe that boosting troop levels and increasing funding for the war will reduce the violence and help efforts to establish political stability in the country. Thus, U.S. President George W. Bush not only wants to send 30,000 more troops to Iraq but is also said to be planning to request another $50 billion to pay for military operations.
On the other side stand those who support the “minimum involvement” strategy.
The Democratic majority in Congress, some of the Republicans, a number of retired generals, anti-war activists, and many members of the media are in favor of a gradual reduction of the U.S. military presence in Iraq.
In their view, the surge strategy has backfired and has been unable to reduce violence and terrorism in Iraq.
Many more U.S. soldiers have been killed over the past six months, and due to the interference of White House officials and the intensification of sectarian and ethnic strife, the Iraqi government is on the verge of collapsing.
Hence, critics of the White House believe that U.S. troops should gradually be withdrawn and responsibility for the establishment of security should be handed over to the Iraqi people and government.
At any rate, the submission of the Crocker-Petraeus report will add fuel to the fire of the political conflict between the supporters and opponents of the “maximum involvement” strategy, and the ranks of the warmonger faction will surely dwindle over time as the anti-war movement grows.
The recent statements of Republican Senator John Warner show that U.S. citizens are running out of patience over the country’s costliest and bloodiest war since the Vietnam War and the White House’s excuses are no longer convincing.