Here's how to win the war in Iraq

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Four "do's" and one "don't" to achieve victory in Iraq:

Do -- Learn from Vietnam. Don't write Iraq off and depart prematurely merely because there are such sentiments in the U.S. electorate. The Iraqi government and its fledgling security forces will be able to bear the burden, but not if we declare "Iraqization" and leave too soon.

		Stuart Herrington is a retired Army colonel, an expert in interrogation and counterinsurgency operations and author most recently of "Stalking the Vietcong: Inside Operation Phoenix, a Personal Account."

Do -- See ourselves as Iraqis see us. If a majority of them want us to go home, as indicated in a recent poll, find out what the problems are and fix them. Respect the Iraqis, conduct ourselves as guests in their country, and do everything possible to let them "run the train." Make certain that they know that we cannot be the engineer in perpetuity.

Do -- Take whatever measures are necessary to provide a secure environment for the Iraqi population. When people vote, volunteer for the Iraqi police or armed forces and otherwise stand up for a future democracy, you cannot let them be slaughtered because you shrink from providing the forces necessary to protect them. If more forces are required, provide them, but be certain that they understand their roles as guarantors of freedom, not "warriors."

Do -- Accelerate reconstruction for Iraqi projects; eliminate construction programs for U.S. infrastructure. Construction of a grandiose new embassy or extensive U.S. bases reinforces the message of our enemies that we plan a long-term, imperial presence in Iraq, with oil on our minds.

Don't tie U.S. and coalition forces to a fixed departure date, however politically tempting that might be. The politically motivated cries for an "exit strategy" are the same siren calls that cost us Vietnam. However tempting, it would be the wrong thing to do. Which brings us back to point one: Learn from Vietnam.