Perhaps a more relevant question is: How are Vietnam and South Korea today, decades after withdrawals that were supposed to lead to their being taken over by communists and tyrants? The wars that the U.S. waged in those countries seem most like the Iraq war.

They have become free states, and relatively prosperous too. Clearly, there is a reason for their success after the U.S. military could no longer provide security, and such historical incidents beg the question of whether the current war can be ended without the serious consequences that were envisioned by the supporters of those similar wars.