Almost five years, almost 4,000 U.S. casualties, and the fate of the Iraq War will rest with one presidential candidate.
Student Caleb Franzoy, who served two terms in Iraq, said the next president needs to win the war or send the troops home.
"There is a job to be done over there, and we need to either do it right or quit and get out," he said. "It's going to take time, money and a lot of lives."
Political science professor Mark Peceny said there's no easy solution.
"Whoever wins this election is going to have an extremely difficult time figuring out what to do next in Iraq," he said.
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How effective is the surge?
In January 2006, President Bush sent more than 20,000 additional soldiers to Iraq with the aim of securing Baghdad and Anbar Province.
Franzoy said the military was understaffed before the troop surge.
"When I was over there, we didn't have enough manpower to control the area we were assigned to patrol," he said. "We would clear entire cities and go back a month later, and they would be filled with enemy combatants again, because there was no presence there to keep them out."
Peceny said Bush's plan seems to be working.
"The surge that was started about a year ago now has led to a reduction in the amount of attacks," he said.
But student Sebastian Pais Iriart, co-chairman of the Progressive Action Coalition, said the surge has made matters only worse.
"When the Americans got there, the Iraqi people were happy, but everybody knows that they are not happy anymore about this occupation over there," he said.
Franzoy said sending more troops would make Iraq safer for Americans.
"Having less manpower in the area than we need is going to cost us more lives," he said.
Peceny said that while the surge was a short-term success, the U.S. is going to need more troops if the war continues to drag out.
"It's very difficult for the Army and Marines to sustain the level of combat personnel in Iraq even for a couple of more months, let alone several more years," he said.
Trying to secure the future
Student John Romero served three tours in Iraq with the Marines.
Romero said the U.S. has been recruiting and training Iraqi security forces for several years.
"We're just training them in basic overall security and stability operations and teaching them how to conduct themselves in a combat environment," he said.
He said the Iraqi security forces are growing, and that is making the Marines' job a little easier.
"Now, every time we push a city, we automatically instill in that city a local police force that has enough numbers to protect that city, and they are accompanied by a Marine or Army attachment that act as a support element," Romero said.
He said it will take another four to five years to train the Iraqi forces.
Peceny said some powerful groups in Iraq have agreed to collaborate with the U.S.
"There has been a decision by a variety of Sunni-Arab tribesmen in the Anbar Province and a variety of other places to have an alliance of convenience with the United States against al-Qaida in Mesopotamia," he said.
And that has led to a reduction in violence in those areas, Peceny said.
"It isn't clear how long the alliance of convenience will last though," he said.
A risky withdrawal
Peceny said pulling out troops could lead to more bloodshed.
"If the U.S. leaves, there is a chance that there will be an increase in violence and an increase in the intensity of the civil war," he said.
But if the U.S. got out of Iraq, it might leave the country's warring factions with no choice but to get along, Peceny said.
"There is at least some possibility that a U.S. withdrawal can be an opportunity to force the various groups in Iraq to forge some sort of compromise," he said.
Romero said a U.S. presence is still needed in Iraq.
"A complete pullout isn't feasible," he said. "I don't believe the Iraqi army is ready to face the hardships that are out there right now."
Franzoy said that without more help from the international community, the U.S. is fighting a losing battle.
"I think that our country is just going to keep paying the price, and no one else is going to jump in and help," he said. "The guys that are out there dying, especially right now, are mostly Americans."
A problem for the next president
Peceny said the war is so complicated that any action might worsen the situation.
"What the next president will have to deal with is that there is no real end in sight to this war," he said.
Peceny said voters should look at the big picture when thinking about presidential candidates and their position on the war.
"I think people should focus not just on how quickly a candidate says they will or will not withdraw troops from Iraq," he said, "but what they also say about their perspective on when the U.S. should use force in other contexts and how assertive the U.S. should be in its wide range of foreign and defense policies."
