by Jitendra Joshi 48 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is paying an oppressive price for the war in Iraq in terms of blood, treasure and its global image, creating a crescendo of calls to withdraw sooner rather than later.
Since the March 2003 invasion, more than 3,600 US personnel have been killed in Iraq, while independent researchers for Congress say the "war on terror" as a whole is costing a stunning 12 billion dollars a month.
But beyond the brutal costs in lives and cash, the United States has rarely stood so low in its historic role as a moral force for good in a restive world.
The "war on terror" detainment camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and scandals such as the abuse of prisoners in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib jail, are seen as shocking stains on US foreign policy.
More Europeans see the United States as a threat to global stability than Iran and North Korea combined, according to a Harris Interactive survey for the Financial Times published last week.
At home, President George W. Bush has paid the price in terms of crashing poll ratings and dwindling support in Congress, where some Republicans have joined Democrats in demanding an early end to the US presence in Iraq.
The new intensity to the Iraq debate has come as the administration prepares to unveil an interim report by Sunday on the progress of Bush's recent deployment of nearly 30,000 extra soldiers into the war-torn nation.
"The surge is not working," Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said, as anti-war Democrats filed legislation to withdraw most combat troops from Iraq by the end of next April.
"No matter how many different ways you explain it, it hasn't worked -- six months, 600 dead Americans, 60 billion dollars," Reid said.
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