Iraq and Afghanistan

Let Them Be

The United States military has been trying to adapt the Falluja approach to Karbala. The army has been withdrawn a couple of times, but then strong patrols have been sent back in. The attempt is to turn security over to Iraqi forces, an attempt that still seems to be in doubt. Even if this fails, it might be a good idea to just let the Sadrists control much of the town. The shi'a divines have asked all military forces to cease action in the holy cities. If we are clearly the ones who accept this request, then we will look relatively good, at least in their eyes. It seems to me that our interim goal should be to secure as much of the country as seems relatively easy, allowing a few places to be controlled by other forces for a while. This should reduce the confrontation, and losses on all sides, without seriously undermining our position. We will see if we are willing and able to undertake this approach, and whether it will be possible to really stabilize things on this knife edge.