Ever since the U.S. troop withdrawal in 2011, the balance of Iraqi power has once again shifted toward Al Qaeda. The radical insurgents have been on the rebound in the last few years, and they have recently struck back.

In the past months, the body count has been piling up. Without U.S. aid, the Iraqi government is losing the fight against the very same regime that American troops ousted. Most recently, the insurgents retook the city of Falluja.

Falluja was the site of some of the fiercest fighting of the Iraq war. Over 100 U.S. soldiers were killed and many more were injured. The loss has left many soldiers who risked their lives in the battle feeling that their comrades’ deaths were for naught.

Al Qaeda was also able to capture the city of Ramadi. This loss has given the organization a huge foothold in the country and they are gaining support by the hundreds. The support is so widespread that the government is hesitant to send in troops, as many of the city’s people would take up arms against them.

With the United States gone, it seems that the Middle East may descend to the level it was at before our intervention, only now it appears Al Qaeda has an extremely deep-seated hatred for our country. Let us hope that the Iraqi government is able to quell this terror organizations re-emergence, and restore its Democratic rule.