Who are the great generals?

[Rex Brynen]

An "infidel army" , that created a power vacuum now occupies the country.
The conflct between Shia and Sunni
The conflict amongst tribes and clans.
Support from Iran and Syria
Al Queda
Political mistakes along the way
Clash of cultures etc etc.

.

How is that more complex than, say, the Lebanese civil war? DR Congo? Sudan? Somalia? Afghanistan? Indochina (a series of linked civil wars spanning Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia)?

[j earl]

How is that more complex than, say, the Lebanese civil war? DR Congo? Sudan? Somalia? Afghanistan? Indochina (a series of linked civil wars spanning Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia)?

Sorry, the topic is great Generals. I was using the example to make a case for Gen Petraeus, in my misguided attempt to say maybe some great Generals are serving today, premature I know, but still. Not to discount other conflicts, but if the topic is "great" generals then this is my case.

[Rex Brynen]

Sorry, the topic is great Generals. I was using the example to make a case for Gen Petraeus, in my misguided attempt to say maybe some great Generals are serving today, premature I know, but still. Not to discount other conflicts, but if the topic is "great" generals then this is my case.

As I remember, the subissue that you raised was complexity of the civil war, specifically:

[Iraq] has to be one of the most complex civil wars in history

Given that, it's not yet clear to me that Petraeus was strikingly more successful, than say, Major-General Ghazi Kanaan or Paul Kagame.