| The following is an interesting op-ed piece by Stephen Biddle, who has been advising Patreaus and recently returned from Iraq..."//www.cfr.org/publication/13524/hard_bargaining.html?breadcrumb=%2Fbios%2F2603%2Fstephen_biddle"
In brief, he argues that most of the policy prescriptions currently under consideration in the US are derived from inaccurate assessments of the Iraq war's "true nature"...classical models of counterinsurgency included. In Biddle's view, the problem is that "Iraq’s factions reject reconciliation, and will continue to reject it until outside pressure forces them to compromise." Accordingly, the termination of hostilities "will require a new strategy in which military force is tied much more actively to ongoing political negotiations. Rather than merely creating space for diplomats to talk, our military must provide the leverage needed to drive unwilling factions toward compromise." |
