Iraq and Buffy

Richard Develan makes a welcome return to the blogging fray by pointing up (also here) strategies for winning in Iraq, courtesy of Andrew Krepinevich in Foreign Affairs and David Brooks in the New York Times. Sort of like a targeted Marshall Plan.

One thing though. Richard is mistaken in thinking that everyone who has concerns about the war recommends rapid withdrawal. Personally, I'm with Colin Powell: you break it you buy it. Which is not meant to be glib: the point is that the fact that the US has screwed up in Iraq doesn't mean that withdrawal would fix things.

The long term economic and political engagement that Krepinvich recommends seems pretty sensible but, in the light of Bush's economic policies (you know, run up a deficit on military spending and tax cuts), it's questionable whether this administration would start forking out for Iraq.

And if all this is just too mundane for you, switch over to Crescat Sententia, where Will Baude discusses the public policy implications of Buffy's guardianship over Sunnydale...