no. dead is at 736 (american casualties). it is not a losing war, it can be done. more troops are needed, and they are coming.
when the americans turn over the country to the iraqi provisional government, Iraq will not be completely soverign, many duties will still be delataged, and the US will still be in command of coalition forces.
as soon as the country stabilizes (relatively speaking) more infrastructure can be put in place, and the Iraqi national defence force can be trained further and grow in numbers. once the Iraqis have the resources to police themselves, coalition forces will leave and Iraq will be a soverign country once again.
however, my bet is once everyone leaves, the shit will hit the fan and civil war will erupt. the planned elections will not happen, and after bickering and fighting one side will emerge (Sunni vs. Shite) and a dictatorship will exist. democracy is not possible in the Islamic culture as it exists today. perhaps in 20 years.
wow good observation! You are officaily the new ns genious. You can pick up your award after I shove it up your ass. - Phrosty