Iraq: Future Options

The Right Iraq Footprint, (Washington Post)…David Ignatius, June 19, 2008, Pg. 19

“Don’t be afraid of Iraqi sovereignty,” Gen. John Abizaid used to say when he was Centcom commander. And that’s good advice now as Iraqis and Americans think about the new “status of forces” agreement that will shape the country next year when the Bush administration is gone.

The right formula, says Kilcullen, is: “Overt De-Escalation; Covert Disruption.” Indeed, our future Iraq presence may look more like covert action than traditional warfare. We’ve made a lot of friends among tribal leaders in the past several years, as the United States finally began to learn the tools of counterinsurgency. Those relationships will be important in the next phase.

Lt. Col. David Kilcullen, a retired Australian army officer and an expert in counterinsurgency. He was a key member of the team that drafted Gen. David Petraeus’s Iraq campaign plan.