Military Wants More Civilians to Help in Iraq http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/wa...He0o40mA2JEsKQ

I'm curious as to how the recent article above relates to the PRT blog entry. Although it totally makes sense that interagency cooperation and involvement would go a long way towards sustainable development, what if a PRT was built and nobody came?

Is it the inherent danger of working outside the wire? Is Iraq (Foreign Service) duty viewed as "hiding in the bilges of a sinking ship" and on par with the sentiment we know exists about advisor duty?

Madame Secretary Rice was referenced to have asked for about 120 military personnel to staff 350 new DoS jobs in Iraq that are a spinoff of the new strategy...I'd go in a heartbeat, but that's not the point.

Have we lost that JFKian sense of selflisness? I look back to my readings in Vietnam history, and there were plenty of civilian govt. employees out in the boonies. Granted, the environment may have been a bit more benign, but if these PRTs are a critical component to the revised strategy, then it is likely doomed if we can't get people on board to pack their trash and go forward.

This lack of cohesiveness is killing us with a death by a thousand cuts, and the insurgents (or terrorists if you prefer) are laughing all the way home.