It's been exactly eight years since the United States led a coalition of nations in a "shock and awe" campaign of Iraq, capturing the capital city of Baghdad in just 24 days.

The justifications for war were as clear as the mission's objectives: Disarm and depose Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, recover Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction" and bring democracy to the Iraqi people.

Although a tyrant was overthrown, that success has been overshadowed by the U.S.'s failure to both find those alleged weapons and quell problems with Iraq's new coalition government.

Now on the invasion's eighth birthday, the roughly 47,000 U.S. troops that still occupy Iraq are witnessing a Middle East ripe with violence and oppression - a region saturated with autocrats, high unemployment, feverous political and social upheaval and even civil war.

In fact, March 20, 2011 may very well be remembered more as the beginning of the Libyan War - a day when the U.S. began directly intervening in a third Middle East nation - than the anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

With the December 31 deadline for withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Iraq on the horizon, the U.N.-sanctioned no-fly zone and commitment "to protect civilians and civilian populated areas" in Libya may trap the U.S. in its third war in the region.

And as the world shifts its focus to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, Iraq's struggles with its own governance and internal security has seemingly slipped under the radar.

Iraq's current coalition government, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, now faces a familiar version of regional anti-government demonstrations - a product of the wave of social unrest that has swept across the Middle East the past two months.

Although Maliki responded by cutting his own pay, reducing electricity bills and even diverting funds meant for fighter jets to public food handouts, he and his cabinet have yet to quell the unrest. In an effort to protect his government and to consolidate his power, Maliki has imposed a 100-day deadline to respond to the violent demonstrations.

There are even reports from a senior adviser to Maliki claiming that the U.S. wants 20,000 troops stay in Iraq after the withdrawal deadline.

The AP reported that the troop quandary highlights the political game of chicken between Baghdad and Washington:

Both al-Maliki, who barely won a second term last year, and President Barack Obama, who faces re-election in 2012, would face a political disaster with their base supporters if they agree to keep thousands of U.S. forces in Iraq beyond Dec. 31. Obama, a Democrat, also is grappling with a Republican House that is more keen on budget-cutting than war-fighting than in years past.

Yet neither al-Maliki nor Obama want to be blamed for losing the war if Iraq is overrun by widespread insurgent attacks or sectarian fighting after U.S. troops leave.

Regardless of when U.S. troops leave Iraq for good, the war has already delivered 4,439 U.S. soldiers home in wooden caskets, cost the U.S. taxpayers more than $750 billion and produced eight years of anti-war protests both at home and abroad.

With departure plans on the table, the question remains whether the U.S. has left Iraq in a better place than before.

Click the links below to see Neon Tommy's analysis of the Iraq War, eight years later.

--

• US Involvement In Iraq Uncompromising, Eight Years In
• Iraq War: Eight Years Explained By The Numbers
  
• Kurds Continue To Push For A Nation Of Their Own
  
• Problems With The Iraqi Coalition Government Persist

--

To reach Benjamin Gottlieb, click here.

Follow him on Twitter @benjamin_max.