Marc Shulman from American Future has some interesting things to say about the evolving ROE in Iraq since the initial invasion.  It has been quite evident the opportunity lost in not killing the cleric Al Sadr back in 2004 has cost the US significantly not only in the loss of US Troop lives but also has emboldened the militias who have murdered a multitude of Iraqi civilians.  Increasing the number of American Troops isn’t going to solve this problem unless there is a change with the Rules of Engagement.

The rules of engagement we’ve followed in Iraq raise an issue than couldn’t be more fundamental. If our twenty-first century conflicts are going to pit us (or, I might add, Israel) against extremist groups whose tactics know no bounds and we allow our conduct to be constrained by the dictates of international law, as defined by such multilateral institutions as the UN, we are condemning ourselves to fighting protracted conflicts that erode American willpower, as has happened with Iraq. If we give precedence to conforming to international norms over winning, it won’t escape the notice of militants, who will use every opportunity to weaken us.