Iraq War: How Much "Will" Is Needed?

I was somewhat surprised to see a comment in Sunday's Washington Post by Lt. Col. Andrew F. Krepinevich (ret.) of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis that seemed to say he thought things were going fine in Iraq, and that the big question was the will of the American people to stick it out. So I looked up a prewar (02/04/03) paper of his on the Iraq War: Preemption in Iraq (pdf file), which gives a better view of what he meant that the "will" of the public needs to sustain (my emphasis):

<< It is also important to emphasize that a large and sustained US military presence could be required in Iraq for many years after the end of the [conventional] war. ... But even under the best of circumstances, the US presence in Iraq is likely to dwarf the size of the US presence in peacekeeping operations in the Balkans and elsewhere. Furthermore, numerous observers, including many in the Bush Administration, have, in the past, strongly criticized those operations for their cost and purported negative impact on US military readiness.

<< Moreover, while it is possible that only a relatively small US peacekeeping and occupation force would be needed in Iraq over the long term, it is also possible that a very sizable US presence, perhaps as many as 100,000 or more troops, would need to be stationed in Iraq for a period of years. Much would depend on the extent to which US friends and allies would be willing to contribute to the operation. And much would also depend on the nature of US goals for Iraq. The more ambitious the goals, the more sizable and long term the presence may have to be. Since the Bush Administration's goals for post-war Iraq appear quite ambitious - including the establishment of a democracy and the maintenance of a single, unified state - the most prudent assumption is probably that a relatively large US military presence will need to be maintained in the Iraq for an extended period after the war.  >>

It remains to be seen whether even the Republican Party has the "will" to sustain that.

Tags: iraq war