|
Regardless of the question of whether or not we should have invaded Iraq, it is clear that we fucked things up from the beginning.
We went into Iraq with a force far too small to ensure security and maintain infrastructure.
We lost the hearts & minds of too many Iraqi's the moment they saw that America was after its own public victory -- while no American forces were simultaneously dispatched to protect the interests of the Iraqi population.
Any fool can burn down a bad house. It takes real work, resources, compassion & vision to burn down a house without killing the slaves to the structure. We failed miserably here.
There was a window of opportunity where more troops would have meant more security for Iraqis. This window has closed. We are now largely seen as occupiers.
Now -- more troops would be perceived as more occupation. We missed the window when more troops would have been a good thing.
|