6月26日，美国国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德在拉受采访时承认，美军无法在撤军前打败伊拉克层出不穷的抵抗武装，反美武装的抵抗活动可能持续5年、6年、8年甚至12年，只能由伊拉克人民自己来完成这项工作。与此同时，26号伊拉克袭击爆炸声依然不断，仅在摩苏尔就造成至少33人死亡。外电报道如下：Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday he is bracing for even more violence in Iraq and acknowledged that the insurgency "could go on for any number of years."

Defeating the insurgency may take as long as 12 years, he said, with Iraqi security forces, not U.S. and foreign troops, taking the lead and finishing the job.

The assessment comes on the heels of the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll showing public doubts about the war reaching a high point - with more than half saying that invading Iraq was a mistake.

On one's heels表示“紧随其后；紧追某人”，相当于at one's heels。与heels相关的词汇还有很多，例如：bring to heel（强迫……服从或就范）；cool/kick one's heels（久等；空等）；turn on one's heel（急转身）。

据统计，自伊拉克过渡政府成立以来，尽管美伊军队不断采取打击行动，但伊拉克境内的袭击事件并没有出现减少迹象，两个多月来已有1000多名伊拉克人和120多名美军士兵死亡。