The Analyst Blog

**UPDATE**: Altering U.S. Strategy in Iraq

Victor David Hanson - someone whose work I admire greatly - echoed in an article yesterday the "welfare affects argument" I discussed in "A Conservative Argument for Leaving Iraq".

The key to stabilizing Iraq has been to promote the autonomy of Iraqi security forces — impossible if they are ensured that 300,000 or so American combat troops will do their fighting for them. And in this type of socio-cultural war, a smaller foreign footprint is critical, since the last thing we wish is an enormous ostentatious American military bureaucracy in Baghdad. (VDH)

posted by The Analyst @ 9:34 PM