We pay homage to the courage, sacrifice, and honor of over 2,000 American soldiers lost but not forgotten in our hearts. Their families grieve and suffer. Increasingly, they and other Americans demand answers about how we will disentangle ourselves from a situation that will undoubtedly take more American lives -- if we don't reconsider America's current mission and prospects in Iraq.

As we look forward, I believe the parliamentary election on Dec. 15 represents a significant turning point. For the first time in history, the Iraqi people will have democratically elected their permanent leaders to serve full four-year terms. Their constitution, problematic as it may be, has been adopted, and it is time for Iraqis to take greater control.

But the stark reality is that the violent insurgency will most likely continue unabated. This new constitution will not diminish the pervasive fear that exists today walking the streets in Baghdad, conducting business in Mosul, and driving the highway to Tikrit.

Sectarian causes

The fact is that a disaffected Sunni minority is the driving force behind an insurgency that kills innocent civilians daily for absolutely no good reason. This is not an insurgency single-mindedly propelling itself against U.S. forces, rather, at its core it is driven by visceral Sunni fear and objections to Shiite rule over the near and long term.

A growing perception is that U.S. military forces buttress the Shiites. As a result, we pay a high cost, in lives lost and casualties. We need to change course to remove ourselves from being the literal and figurative target of Sunni enmity.

These elections, once completed, should signal a major re-evaluation of U.S. policy and the American mission in Iraq.

We are in the middle of two factions, Shiite and Sunni, attempting to settle their differences by mostly violent means. Sunni extremists have killed over 8,000 Iraqis so far this year and estimates indicate 25,000 to 30,000 Iraqis have lost their lives since the war began.

I believe this is a matter for Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds to address through political negotiation. This battle cannot be won militarily.

Drawing down our troop strength will not only take our service men and women out of harm's way, but it will also force Iraq's religious and political leaders to confront the insurgency and find a balance of power acceptable to Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. The alternative -- a continuation of this slaughter of innocents -- will only continue to grow with the inevitable result: a drift into a civil war.

It has become increasingly clear that the continued American presence in Iraq is a lightning rod for violence. It does nothing to diminish the Shiite-Sunni hatred. Rather, it makes reconciliation less likely. It gives the insurgents an enemy to rally against -- they are waging jihad against an occupying force when they are in fact waging war against their fellow Muslims.

Ultimately, the Iraqis will have to defend themselves and confront the insurgency, both militarily and politically. The question is when.

As long as the United States is perceived as the bulwark for the Shiite majority, this coming to terms is hindered, not helped.

Training Iraqi forces

In the interim period ahead, U.S. forces will have a significant role to play, especially in the areas of training and rebuilding infrastructure.

The Pentagon estimates that an additional 125,000 Iraqi security personnel will be needed to bring total strength to 325,000. The United States must do everything it can to continue to train soldiers and prepare them to assume the security obligations of the nation. For starters, we need to increase the number of U.S. military personnel providing initial training to the Iraqi forces from the current 1,200.

This does not necessarily mean that all Iraqi forces will be trained to the level of U.S. forces -- that is unlikely -- but the real benchmark is for Iraqi units to have a basic level of training and equipment to safeguard their towns, cities and communities.

If Shiites and Sunni can reconcile, Iraq can be a place of peace and prosperity where Iraqis can walk the street and engage in business, and democracy can thrive.

America needs to change course, reassess its mission in light of this escalating insurgency, place more responsibility on Iraq for a negotiated settlement, and begin a structured drawdown of American forces.