Opinion (Ira Chernus): Beware the 'Iraq Syndrome'

Pro-war demonstrators carry flags and signs in front of wooden crosses set up as an anti-war memorial in Lafayette, California

The Iraq syndrome is headed our way. Perhaps it's already here.

A clear and growing majority of Americans now tell pollsters that that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a mistake, that it's a bad idea to "surge" more troops into Baghdad, that we need a definite timeline for removing all our troops.

The nation seems to be remembering a lesson of the Vietnam War: We can't get security by sending military power abroad. Every time we try to control another country by force of arms, we only end up more troubled and less secure.

But the Iraq syndrome is a two-edged sword, and there is no telling which way it will cut in the end.

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