Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr. is a defense policy analyst who currently serves as President of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments... (wikipedia)
If they're not ready to provide security, there could be a regression.
As long as there is no government, Iraqis tend to view the situation as one of occupation.
A lot of these tough choices are kind of kicked down the road.
The near-real-time history being written hasn't been particularly kind to Rumsfeld.
The insurgency is still mounting an effort comparable to where they were a year ago. We do something we think will change things, but a month or two later casualties and the level of violence are back to where they were.