“I would argue that with Saddam Hussein no longer in power in Iraq, that is a partial win,” he said. “I think what we need is an Iraqi government that is legitimate in the eyes of the Iraqi population, an Iraq that is able to protect itself and not be a safe haven for terror. That’s what I think winning is.”...
We can’t develop a strategy without an overall achievable objective.
LTG Odierno's stated objectives liberates us from the stable democracy end state (if it is accepted) which is helpful, but I’m still wrestling with how we “the military” facilitate establishing a government that is seen as legitimate by those it governs and how we deny Iraq from becoming a safe haven for terrorists. I don’t think that the U.S. military can do much more to facilitate these objectives. While drawing parallels can lead to misleading conclusions, it is worth noting that the more stable governments of Columbia, Pakistan, and Philippines as a small example all have large ungoverned areas that are safe havens to various extents for terrorists. How long will it be until the Iraq government is prepared to effectively provide security throughout its entire territory? Saddam couldn’t do it with a large Army and no rules of engagement. While I admire LTG Odierno’s attempt to narrow down the objective to the achievable, I think we need to go back to the drawing board and do the hard, yet basic, work of clarifying our realistic end state objectives.
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