I always thought Iraq was Vietnam all over again. The similarities are so great- the US does the fighting until the native government is strong enough to take over and defend itself. The location has changed- the names have changed- but I'm afraid the ending will be the same.
Of course Al Qaeda is sitting back waiting until the US pulls out and then they will move in- and the new local government will fall just as Saigon did 34 years ago.
I always said Vietnam was this country's biggest foreign-policy blunder- now it's the second biggest. While we lost more men in Vietnam- the long term geopolitical consequences of a Iraq fall will be much greater.