A War We Just Might Win...really?

Perhaps I was wrong with my previous vilification of the current strategy. Granted it has been a dismal failure for four years, but according to this New York Times article by Kenneth Pollack and Michael E. O'Hanlon (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/opinion/30pollack.html?pagewanted=print) the fifth year has brought vast improvements. Apparently, local Iraqi militias, police forces, and governments are beginning to cooperate with each other, so much so that in certain areas, US military is taking a second seat to local enforcement units. Also, the economic reconstruction plans employing strategies like microcredit are beginning to bare fruits.

Even more significant, Iraqi's are taking what seems to be a definitive side in the propaganda war I referred to earlier, the one between the US and sectarian forces like Al Qaeda. Much of Iraqi locals have chosen to seek security and stability with US troops and local militias rather than rolling the dice with Al Qaeda and Sharia Law. This in my view is the real victory as it represents a conscious choice for democracy over authoritarianism.

While this report is certainly encouraging, I remain convinced that partitioning the country into autonomous regions is the best solution, and tidbits from Pollack's article vindicate that point. The Times article points out that national aspects of Iraq remain mired in corruption, apathy, and inefficiency. As a result, towns have turned to local police forces which are far less sectarian. Additionally, the article also paints the national government as one being full of self-interested politicians jockeying for political power rather than seeking to secure the greater good. This seems to bolster the argument for devolution increasing autonomy to regional authorities who have acted responsibly, completely bypassing self-interested elitists.