Larry Diamond, one of Seymour Martin Lipset's better students who is currently a fellow at the Hoover Institution and was an advisor to the CPA for several months, appeared last night on CNN to discuss the Bush Administration's handling of the Iraq Reconstruction. He was not lauditory. The three main points:
1. The cooption of the Ba'athists in Fallujah was probably necessary, and may be a good thing.
2. A similar attempt to coopt Sadr's militias is decidedly unnecessary, and almost certainly a disaster for Iraqi democracy.
3. We need about twice as many troops in Iraq as we currently have in country. Without those additional troops, democracy doesn't have a prayer.
I think he's right, and I'm worried.
Posted by Demosophist at May 14, 2004 10:29 AM | TrackBackUnfortunately, such troops do not exist. And it appears that Congress is unwilling to spend the money to help raise more.
Posted by: FH at May 14, 2004 09:37 PMNext time someone yammers about Clinton's military, just remember that during his administration we went down from 18 divisions of 4 brigades each to 10 divisions of 3 brigades.
Oopsie.
Posted by: Bravo Romeo Delta at May 17, 2004 08:47 PMHave you read Mark Helprin's latest? If there's a more strategic way to control the Middle East, allowing the regimes there to grope their own way toward liberal society with an occasional push from an impregnable redoubt, that would meet my requirements. I think I may have been a little too ambitious about what we can accomplish in one visit.
Posted by: Scott (to BRD) at May 18, 2004 12:34 AM