The Sisyphean task of the Dagger Brigade

From McPherson Hall at Minnesota Central:

I don't normally read The National Journal, but I heard about their cover story and thought Vox Verax readers want to consider it.

It is based on a reporter's most recent trip to Iraq to see firsthand how the new military strategy is going (Bush calls the strategy "the surge", but to me it is just a different tactic that he could have used with the existing troop levels.) The article has a blend of stories of success while citing failures that continue to occur. My assessment has not changed. Bush's report card of eight satisfactory benchmarks is deceptive at best. My report card would be that the military gets an A+ for execution of the plan while Rice's State Department once again fails to accomplish anything. The article includes one unnamed U.S. official stating, "Although the Iraqi government bears much of the blame, he says, U.S. government agencies have also failed to supply the robust support, mentoring, and oversight to other Iraqi ministries that the Pentagon has given to the ministries of Defense and Interior, probably the two highest functioning in Iraq's government." Bush doesn't need a war czar; he needs a new, strong secretary of state.

Money quotes (which I have rearranged within the paragraphs for a logical presentation):

-- When a reporter asked Kareem [an interpreter for the Americans] about his country's long-term prospects, he turned pensive. "I think electing Maliki and this present Iraqi government was a potentially fatal mistake, because they all have sectarian agendas," he said. "But if we find a loyal Iraqi leader who is willing to be fair to everyone, and the people can start thinking of themselves first as Iraqis, then there is still a chance for Iraq."

-- Among the 2 million Iraqis who have fled the country are an estimated 40 percent of Iraq's professional class, the skilled technocrats capable of running government bureaucracies, national infrastructure, and successful businesses. [SNIP] Almost no one believes that Iraq's overwhelmingly youthful population, for instance, will turn away from the militias and violence without some other means of earning a living.

The article is here.