US power and prestige around the world continues to suffer from the war in Iraq and its aftermath, and the next president will struggle to repair the damage, many foreign policy specialists argue. But the Bush administration continues to defend its decision to launch the war five years ago on Wednesday, and prominent voices argue that a decision to withdraw US forces soon would send an unfortunate signal to the west’s adversaries.

“A rapid withdrawal would be a demonstration in the region of the impotence of western power,” Henry Kissinger, the former Republican secretary of state, told Der Spiegel last month. “Hamas, Hizbollah and al-Qaeda would achieve a more dominant role and the ability of western nations to shape events would be sharply reduced,” he said.