Italians were massively against the war in Iraq last year.
But Berlusconi sent troops there, nevertheless.
Several days ago, Italians got killed.
Now, there is a majority of Italians in favor of keeping toops in Iraq.

It's all a matter of psychology: they must not have died for no reason, in vain, and they don't want to be humiliated by retreating and thereby lose face.

It's exactly the same for the US troops:
Even if it's getting better and better (supposedly) in Iraq, as long as one US soldier gets killed, the US won't return back to the US. That would be losing face.
Sorry, but the americans care much more about not losing face than about the Iraqi's fate.
Proof? How many Iraqis got killed since the US invaded Iraq? How many times more than the 9/11 vicitims? How many times did americans dismissed killing innocent or friendly Iraqis as merely "unfortunate incidents"?

France was right, right from the beginning and the US silently aknowledges this. France won't boast about it nor will the US administration openly admit it. It doens't matter. What matters is for the US to get out quickly from this quagmire, WITHOUT LOSING FACE, and France can help, here.

It's all very nice to claim France never won a war since Napoleon, (when I read this article now, I realize how much Chavez was wrong, then) but it's not about winning or losing a war, it's about dignity, humiliation, respect.
Yes, the US can win the war in Iraq. It can drop a few atom bombs there and it's over. But it would be the worst thing to do in the face of the world and itself.

I wonder if the US administration realizes it cannot provide Iraq with a western style democracy. it will have to drop the idea if it wishes not to know the same fate in 2004 as the Johnson administration in 1968.
1968 was saved by Apollo 8 (after recovering from the Apollo 1 tragedy).
Can 2004 also be saved by a space-relate event after recovering from the Columbia tragedy?
Only time will tell.

Raoul