Battered and exhausted, a demoralized look in his eyes, weakened by a poor diet and constant fighting, a man stands tentatively on duty at a dry and desolate checkpoint in northern Iraq. With his rusted old Kalashnikov slung across his shoulder, he doesn’t exactly portray a stalwart defense against what lies before him.

Meet the Iraqi soldier.

Ever since the Islamic State swept through Iraq in mid-June, the effectiveness of Iraqi government forces and their ability to maintain law and order have been questioned.

When the Islamic State launched its assault, the Iraqi Army collapsed, fleeing back to Baghdad. In its rush to escape, it left behind massive supplies of military equipment. The Islamic State upgraded from rusty pickups to Humvees overnight. Banks were stripped of millions of dollars. The Islamic State even brags that it obtained highly enriched uranium from a university in Mosul.

The retreat of government forces was more than just humiliating; it significantly empowered the Islamic State. Since that initial retreat, the Iraqis have been unwilling and unable to launch an effective counterattack. In fact, before international aid arrived, soldiers struggled to even protect Baghdad as the black banner of the Islamic State drew ominously close.

Russia supplied a few Sukhoi fighter jets, but even with air superiority, Iraqi forces were unable to halt the Islamic State’s progress. The recent addition of airstrikes by a United States-led coalition finally stopped the spread—yet we have yet to see a reversal of the massive gains made by the Islamic State in June.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Iraq have also taken up arms against the Islamic State, but even these battle-hardened men struggle when assaulted by similarly battle-ready Islamic State fighters protected by captured U.S. armor. Most Kurdish fighters are outfitted with outdated Russian or Chinese military hardware.

Despite the aid of the Peshmerga forces, a few Russian jets, and even the $25 billion in training and supplies given by the U.S., the standing Iraqi Army remains incapable of defending its homeland. Troops are crippled by endemic low morale, which is made worse by rampant desertion and corrupt leadership. The Iraqi government recently admitted that it has paid millions of dollars to 50,000 “ghost soldiers.” These are fake IDs given by commanders who then collect the paychecks themselves.

The sorry state of the Iraqi Army is a telltale sign of where events are leading in Iraq and the broader Middle East. Despite U.S. efforts, Iraq has been unable to check the rise of extremists. In desperation, it has looked to its neighbor Iran for troops and support. Iraq needs outside help and is willing to look anywhere for it.

The U.S. has been making airstrikes, but what happens when it stops? Even if the Islamic State is driven back to Syria, what is to stop it from returning in a few months or a year? Iraqi security forces have already proved themselves incapable of stopping a few thousand terrorists in pickups.

Look at other examples. Libya has become a terrorists’ playground. Why is there no longer a U.S. embassy in Libya? Because militias now rule the streets from Tripoli to Benghazi. Did U.S. airstrikes solve Libya’s problems? After the ouster of Muammar Qadhafi, was the country capable of governing itself? Ambassador Stevens would say no.

What about Yemen? Have U.S. airstrikes brought peace and stability there? Terrorists overran the capital city of Sanaa in September. The Houthi rebels (which are backed by Iran) have since entered a power-sharing agreement with the Yemeni government. The country is enduring ongoing terrorist attacks as well as political and social upheaval.

When and wherever U.S. forces leave, local forces become easy pickings for terrorists. Or, as is the case with Iraq, the nation is overwhelmed and quickly turns into a vassal state of its more dominant neighbor—in this case, Iran.

Sadly, Iraq won’t be the last nation to suffer after a hasty U.S. withdrawal. Look at Afghanistan. The government there is in disarray, and the U.S. hasn’t even left yet. Terrorist attacks plague the capital city, opium production has never been higher, and, by some measures, the Taliban is stronger than ever—despite over a decade of war. Few believe that the governing body will stand without U.S. support.

These nations need America. But America is leaving. The days of U.S. international policing are coming to an end.

This was the main subject of our January 2014 edition of the Philadelphia Trumpet magazine. If you missed it, request a free copy, and read what happens next when the U.S. is no longer a dominant power. Iraqi security shortcomings are a telltale sign of what is coming in a post-American world.