Like everyone else, I’m 100% behind US efforts to win this thing without a major war. Getting the Senior Republican Guard to surrender would be great because it would save American lives and end this thing sooner. And, if it can be pulled off, it is the only moral and responsible route for the US to take. It will save lives, infrastructure and preserve American moral authority.

All of that said, it seems to me that some of the benefits of victory might be reduced if Iraq collapses all on its own. First and foremost, we’ll be left with thousands of Republican Guard and Baathist functionaries who will be able to claim they should be part of the new regime because they did the “right thing”– a the last second with no other choice. Second, I wonder — just wonder — whether the lesson for the likes of North Korea will be lessened if it seems Iraq collapsed from its own weight. Just something to ponder.