Via the NYT: Slow Progress Being Made in Iraq, Petraeus Tells Congress
“He’s the right person, three years too late and 250,000 troops short,” Mr. Skelton [D-MO] said of the general and the general’s predicament, as he sees it.
Setting aside those who might protest that there should have never been an invasion in the first place, given that there was an invasion, it has struck me for some time that while Petraeus has an impressive resume and seems quite suited to this job, it has always seemed to me to be too little, too late.
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“He’s the right person, three years too late and 250,000 troops short”
Implicit in that statement is the idea that a higher troop level from the beginning would have made a difference. That’s not clearly evident.
A major increase in troop levels 3 years ago would have been a disaster if they didn’t lead to a pacified country then. We don’t have the men at arms that we had in Vietnam. The current surge has sopped up a lot of the extra folks around. There’s speculation that it can’t continue past about April next year.
The same folks that are complaining about the length of time at home for units, the family hardship, etc. are simultaneously saying “if only more troops were sent”. Those concerns are diametrically opposed.
While I think General P. has done a good job, I’m not sure he’s head and shoulders above predecessors. He does have the advantage of seeing where others screwed up. That doesn’t equate to genius.
Comment by Buckland — Monday, September 10, 2024 @ 6:18 pm