1st: Afghanistan
The regime of the Taliban in Kabul has been removed. Right.
Have the Taliban been wiped out ? No.
Did Al kaida lost all their bases and support in Afghanistan ? No.
Today Afghanistan is devided in regions controlled by Warlords.
The west of Afghanistan is controlled by an iranian puppet ruling in the city and province of Herat. No rights for women - no democracy - same like the situation when the USSR has to left Afghanistan.
In the northeast part of Afghanistan the usbekian Warlord Dostum has his terror regime - a regime very much Saddam. He is supported by the CIA and was responsible for killing thousands of POW´s and the assassination of at least 2 ministers of the Karsai government to become more powerful (he is also member of Karsais government).
In the southeast the pasthuni tribes have regaines their old power and again here the women have no rights, must wear the burkha. These pashtuni tribes are nothing else than the Taliban - and they are supported by the pashtuni tribes from Pakistan.
There are many other minor parties and each are fighting the others.
In Kabul Karsai cant move out without his foreign guards - he is like th soviet pupped Nadjibullah who was hanged by his people when his soviet masters left Afghanistan.
And to make its worse for the world all these parties produce drugs to finance their little warmachines.
So you call this a succes in war against terror in Afghanistan ?
Then Iraq:
One dictator was removed - and new dictators put place.
Btw - none of the neighbors feared Saddam, because his military and economy lied in ruins. There was short before the attack on Iraq a conference in Ankara where Turkey, Iran, Syria, Saudi-Arabia and other gulf-states met and came to the conclusion that Iraq was no danger for their neighbors.
But the good thing is that Saddam weas removed.
The bad thing is that obviously no one has planned for the day after the victory.
The shiite-leaders (shiites = the majority of the people in Iraq) who wanted to cooperate with the USA, the Ajatollahs Choei and Ajatollah Hakim were assassinated.
Now only two leaders are left, the dominating Ajatollah Sistani (born in Iran and supported by Iran) and this Mullah Sadr who wants to kill Sistani to reach his goal to become leader of the shiites. (His group was at least responsible for the assasination of Hakim - maybe also of Choei).
In north Iraq the kurdish clans are fighting each other and the sunnite arab minority dont want to loose the power it had since the creation of Iraq after WW1 - supported by Jordan and the Saudis and also Syria.
The puppetregime under Allawi - a man who worked very long for the CIA - is hated by most parts of the iraqis.
And day by day US- and other occupation forces are under attack in Iraq and die.
If you call this a success then I dont want to see a failure by your definition.
So - these were only two minor countries with battered military, demoralized population with gorups within who fight each other.
Iran has not only larger territory but 60 million people who can easily be turn into fanatism if the right buttons are pushed.
For example when again foreigners are attacking the country.
