On Iraq

From "Getting the Job Done," by Richard Lowry, in National Review, pg 38, Nov 5, 2007.

"The Iraq War has wars within wars. One Army intelligence officer identifies six different ones: the Sunni vs. Shiite conflict; the fight against al-Qaeda; the Shiite vs. Shiite struggle; the challenge of crime; Iran's effort to destabilize the country; and the Sunni insurgency.. each of these has its own layers.... Every area has its own dynamic and its own players, whom our military has to know and manage....

"To sit in on briefings with American colonels about their areas of operation is to get a window on an incredibly complicated world. They have to run local governments, train Iraqi forces, manage relations with Baghdad, revitalize local economies, and engage in graduate-level anthropology - all while fighting a war. These must be the most competent people on Earth. You are awestruck by how much they have been able to accomplish, at the same time you want to hold your head in your hands at the magnitude and complexity of the tasks they still have ahead of them.

"One... officer explains counterinsurgency and winning the trust of a local population in a metaphor that, however apt, elicits guffaws from his comrades: 'It's like Pilates - it's all about time spent under pressure.' What our troops most need from us is something within our power to grant - more time."