The latest from Victor Davis Hanson

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...throughout history it is what fighters do, rather than how many of them there are, that determines their success or failure.

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Even generous estimates of the number of insurgents in Iraq conclude there are about 10,000 active killers — a fraction of just the irregulars in the south of Vietnam alone. Why then, when the numerical disparities are so much more favorable to our cause than during the Vietnam War, are we, rather than our vastly outnumbered enemies, lamenting the paucity of troops? That we have not secured the country may be due to the limitations put on our soldiers rather than their number; and to our preference for conventional rather than counter-insurgency fighting.

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Any gain from having more military forces “freed” from Iraq to face crises elsewhere would be vastly overshadowed by the far greater number of new crises that would soon arise — once Iranians, Syrians, Chinese, North Koreans, and the new Latin American Communists sought to emulate the successful Iraqi formula of defeating and humiliating the U. S. military.

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The one common denominator? Whatever the United States does is suspect; and journalists without responsibility for governance, either for setting policy or for its implementation, are always brighter than generals, politicians, and policy planners saddled with it.

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http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson111706.html

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Any gain from having more military forces “freed” from Iraq to face crises elsewhere would be vastly overshadowed by the far greater number of new crises that would soon arise — once Iranians, Syrians, Chinese, North Koreans, and the new Latin American Communists sought to emulate the successful Iraqi formula of defeating and humiliating the U. S. military.

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So VDH is saying that in near future US will invade and occupy Iran, Syria, China, North Korea and several Latin American countries and have insurgency on it's hands? :rolleyes:

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What Middle Eastern illegitimate autocrat would want to host a retreating and defeated American army, a sort of modern version of Xenophon’s orphaned Ten Thousand?

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Any small autocrat with good relations with US who fears either of the big neighbours. Kuwait. Qatar. Oman. Bahrain....

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If IEDs worked in Iraq, why not also in Kuwait and Qatar?

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Because, unlike Iraq, these two countries have functioning central governments with popular support and functioning militaries that are able to counter such threats.

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Any small autocrat with good relations with US who fears either of the big neighbours. Kuwait. Qatar. Oman. Bahrain....

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True, if they have the facilities.

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Because, unlike Iraq, these two countries have functioning central governments with popular support and functioning militaries that are able to counter such threats.

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So does the USA, Britain, and Spain. And look what happened. Meanwhile, Kuwait and Qatar are right next door. Im sceptical that the greater "secret police" powers of an autocracy would be a sufficient safeguard.

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Originally Posted by CPT Holzbach

True, if they have the facilities.

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Kuwait was staging ground for OIF so I guess facilities are there. USN ships regulary dock at Bahrain so facilities are there.

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Originally Posted by CPT Holzbach

So does the USA, Britain, and Spain. And look what happened. Meanwhile, Kuwait and Qatar are right next door. Im sceptical that the greater "secret police" powers of an autocracy would be a sufficient safeguard.

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VDH is talking about IEDs, not terrorist attacks such as those you mention. And I suspect that in Iraq lot of Iraqis look other way when they see somebody planting IED, something that wouldn't happen in other Gulf countries.

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So does the USA, Britain, and Spain. And look what happened. Meanwhile, Kuwait and Qatar are right next door. Im sceptical that the greater "secret police" powers of an autocracy would be a sufficient safeguard.

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In short setting off an IED in Kuwait or Qatar would be viewed as a criminal act and be treated as such. Those countries have the stability and institutional infrastructure to be able to match the appropriate type of force (police or military invistagative/intel units not trigger pullers) to the crime.