WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The Iraq war has strained U.S. forces to the point where they could not fight another large-scale war , according to a survey of military officers . U.S. troops patrol Haifa Street in Baghdad last week . Of those surveyed , 88 percent believe the demands of the Iraq war have `` stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin . '' On the other hand , 56 percent of the officers disagree that the war has `` broken '' the military . Eighty percent of officers believe it is unreasonable to expect the U.S. military to wage another major war successfully at present . Foreign Policy magazine and the Center for a New American Security on Tuesday issued the U.S. Military Index , a survey of 3,400 present and former U.S. military officers . `` We asked the officers whether they thought the U.S. military was stronger or weaker than it was five years ago , '' said Michael Boyer , who helped write the report . `` Sixty percent said the U.S. military is weaker than it was five years ago , '' Boyer told reporters . The report found that officers `` see a military apparatus severely strained by the grinding demands of war . '' More than half of the officers responding cited the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , and the `` pace of troop deployments '' needed for those conflicts , the survey said . The report comes a few weeks before the five-year anniversary of the Iraq war , where a troop `` surge '' is winding down by summer . The U.S. military is proposing a pause in troop reductions for a period of review before any more decisions on withdrawals . The officers have `` an overwhelmingly negative view '' of many of the early decisions shaping the Iraq war , but most believe the present U.S. counterinsurgency strategy and troop increases are good omens for success in Iraq . A majority of officers in the Iraq war say some policy decisions have `` hindered the prospects for success there . '' `` These include shortening the time units spend at home between deployments and accepting more recruits who do not meet the military 's standards . Even the military 's ability to care for some of its own -- mentally wounded soldiers and veterans -- was judged by most officers to be substandard , '' the survey found . At the same time , 64 percent of the officers believe morale in the military remains high . Nearly three-quarters of the officers believe civilian leaders set `` unreasonable goals for the military in post-Saddam Iraq . '' `` They believe more troops were needed on the ground at the start of the fighting . They believe disbanding the Iraqi military was a mistake , '' the survey said . However , nearly nine of 10 think the surge and Gen. David Petraeus ' counterinsurgency strategy are `` raising the U.S. military 's chance for success there . '' The officers believe `` that either China or Iran , not the United States , is emerging as the strategic victor '' in the Iraq war . `` The United States has been preoccupied away from Asia , '' said Kurt Campbell , the head of the group that conducted the survey . China 's rising influence worldwide predates the war but is part of a `` great game under way in Asia for influence , for relationships , '' Campbell said . The U.S. focus on Iraq `` sends a message to our friends and others that maybe we 're not as focused on the drama that 's playing out there , '' he said . Iran has gained from the war because of the removal of Iraq `` as a strategic counterweight , '' the report said . The survey portrayed Iran , the Taiwan Strait ( where tensions have flared between China and Taiwan ) , Syria and North Korea as four potential hot spots and sought opinions of how prepared the U.S. is `` to successfully fight a major combat operation there . '' Officers were asked to judge the preparedness of the U.S. on a scale of one to 10 , with 10 meaning `` fully prepared '' and one indicating `` unable to execute . '' Iran was rated 4.5 , the Taiwan Strait ( where there have been tensions between China and Taiwan ) 4.9 , Syria 5.1 , and North Korea 4.7 . The officers ranked the Navy and Air Force readiness the highest at 6.8 and 6.6 , respectively . The Army and Marines , which have assumed the `` bulk of the burden in Iraq and Afghanistan , '' ranked 4.7 and 5.7 , respectively . Other results of the survey : .
Eighty percent of officers : It 's unreasonable to expect U.S. to wage another major war . Officers have ` ` overwhelmingly negative opinion '' of early decisions shaping the war . Fifty - five percent of officers disagree that the Iraq War has ` ` ' '' the military . , based on survey of 3,400 present and former U.S. military officers .