Oh, and another thing.
The shooting war was pretty much over when Mr. J. Paul Bremer, a career State Department hack if ever there was one, was put in charge and totally bolluxed the end game.
We know that State has a track record of sabotage and malicious compliance, based on their own stalinist lite worldview (as they will tell you, they are the professionals, after all), but I think the rank arrogance and utter stupidity of Mr. J Paul Bremer is a much more reasonable explaination for his blunders.
It is not a mystery, then, that senior military commanders on the ground believe that civilian leadership in these matters (occupation and pacification ops) is a huge risk and potential war loser. Might as well turn it over to the bleeping press corps.
