The US is sending an extra 7,000 troops to Iraq, over and above those sent in the recent "surge". Meanwhile, General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq, says that there is no military solution in Iraq and that it really is all down to negotiations between the various Iraqi political factions. I'm glad they've noticed - but it does rather make a mockery of their escalation strategy, neh?
Petraeus's remarks are long overdue but sensible, although they must read as apostasy to Frederick kagan and other gung ho neocons. Political talks can only bear fruit in a climate of stability, however relative and temporary. Hence there is some logic in dispatching extra troops, mainly military police, to Iraq.
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