Let me be clear. I think it was a mistake not to have enough troops to have an effective force to space ratio to deal with what became the insurgency. My point is and has been that the Centcom commander favored a small foot print that forced the Iraqis to take responsibility. US forces paid a price for this strategy, before the Iraqi forces came on line, by having to buy the same real estate more than once, because they did not have enough troops to take and hold certain areas. My point about [I]Cobra II[I] is that the commander of Centcom has consistently said he did not want additional troops. He was responsible for that decision. He had reasons for that decision beyond the wishes of the Secretary of Defense. The position quoted above is consistent with his earlier statements on force levels. His position is not wholly without merit, but we have had to pay a price for those merits. I would add that he should have done a better job of explaining his rationale for his strategy instead of letting the political leaders take the heat for backing his strategy, because political support for the war has also paid a price.