McGrath, that's why I said "suspended state of civil war". Kinda like the situation in the former Yugoslavia during the soviet occupation. There was peace under a brutal regime until the regime was gone. The two sides could have decided to live in continued peace or make war. They unfortunately chose the latter. And that was after a peaceful withdrawal by the soviets.

I'll agree with you whole heartedly that US soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are not trained or equipped to handle situations like this. They are warriors who may be used to prevent war (by taking out the possible means of waging war, or wage war on a known enemy. Getting into the middle of the enemy camp, one that is mixed so freely with the civilian populace, is not the preferred battle ground for any commander.

I for one don't think they should have gone their in the first place and I do believe that the current administration ignored the "nay-sayers" entirely instead of at least addressing their concerns.