Tuesday, January 16, 2007

No Third Way

Frederick Kagan writes:
The United States has two options in Iraq: stay and try to win, or cut, run, and lose. Attempts to chart a middle course--partial withdrawal or redeployment, accelerated hand-over to the Iraqis, political deals with Syria or Iran--ignore the realities of the military situation. The real choice we face is this: Is it better to accept defeat than to endure the pain of trying to succeed?

He goes on to describe, in detail, what withdrawal would like like right now. Upshot? "The result could be worse than what we suffered in Vietnam."