Rich:

I am at a loss to understand your correspondent’s point. I suggested that we might be kidding ourselves (more precisely, that the administration might be kidding the public) about the willingness and ability of Iraqi peasants to kill jihadists on our behalf and in our cause. He accuses me of wimping out on the war. The connection may make sense to him, but it makes none to me.

I’m not a hard guy to pin down. I’ve made my opinion about our proper war-fighting strategy very clear, here for example. I want the US armed forces to kill every jihadi they can find, anywhere they can find them, and not to lose any sleep over collateral casualties or summary executions. What I am against is illusions that Arabs can be persuaded to do this work for us. I don’t believe they can.

If we’ve got a war to fight, let’s fight it, the way we fought all the wars we were victorious in. Let’s not kid ourselves that we can slip away from the fight, leaving it to others. What’s happening to us? We hire illegal immigrants to mow our lawns; we hire Iraqi peasants to fight our wars. If there’s a job to be done, let’s do it ourselves — as we once could!

And your correspondent’s view of ARVN’s capabilities in 1975 seems to me a rosy one, though I will take, and post, advisement from people better informed than myself, and more rational, or sober, than your correspondent.

The United States could certainly have defeated North Vietnam, under the right leadership. I don’t believe ARVN ever could have, with all the materiel America could supply.