Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker have revised their plans for Iraq to focus more on combating the Shia militias even as (1) they acknowledge that the U.S. military will never defeat all of its enemies in Iraq; and (2) they shift focus from the benchmarks they previously stressed to more "concrete, practical" -- read, "modest" -- steps they'd like to see Iraq's political leaders take.
Oh, and the troop draw-down that we're supposed to be seeing between now and July? The Post's report offers yet another reminder that it's not exactly a done deal. "Redeployments of U.S. brigades -- even of the surge forces -- are dependent on the security situation on the ground in Iraq," Petraeus advisor Col. John Martin tells the Post. "If Gen. Petraeus early next year sees the security situation deteriorating, he will have the courage to go back to the president and say he needs to keep forces that he had planned to send home."
Thing is, we have made so many enemies in the region we can always find at least one to justify a 100+ acre embassy/military base in Baghdad, additional troops, and three or four permanent bases in the rest of Iraq. Easy. From Halliburton to Aegis to Dyncorp, private military contractors must be delighted at their good fortune.
