In direct contravention of my wife's explicit instructions, herewith I inaugurate my first blog. Long may it prosper.

For some reason, I think I have something to say to you. You think you have something to say to me? Email me at: gideonsblogger -at- yahoo -dot- com

 
A good post by Paul Cella on Iraq, and the difficulty in sustaining public support for the war. It's not about the daily news cycle, nor is it about being duped into war. It's about clear and defined objectives, which in Iraq are lacking - not because Americans can't possibly follow the argument about how Iraqi democracy is in our interest, nor because they are insufficiently enlightened to accept said argument, but because achieving Iraqi democracy is not a military objective. It's a political objective. The army, however hard it fights, cannot assure victory if victory is defined this way. And Americans have enough horse-sense to see this. We are fighting a civil war on behalf of our allies in Iraq, and civil wars are not only bloody and ugly but very hard to *end* because victory in such a war (unless it is a war of extermination - which Iraq is not, thank God) is not something that can be achieved by strictly military means.

Steve Sailer's point is also apposite in this regard - the lack of a leadership to the insurgency makes it harder to defeat, not easier. But these kinds of conflicts can be very hard to end even when the other side does have a charismatic leader to negotiate with (or kill). Ask the Israelis. They've tried both strategies.
posted by Noah at 6:20 PM