Commonweal contributor Andrew Bacevich in Monday's L.A. Times:

In fact, the great lesson of Iraq (further affirmed in Afghanistan) is that the umma the Arabic name for the entire Muslim community is all butimpervious to change imposed from the outside. If anything, ourham-handed efforts to inculcate freedom and democracy, even ifwell-intentioned, have played into the hands of violent Islamicradicals. The Bush administration's strategy has exacerbated theproblem it was designed to solve, while squandering American lives,treasure, moral standing and political influence to little avail.

Giventhe mess in which we currently find ourselves, increasing the number ofmen and women under arms makes about as much sense as drinking bourbonto treat depression. In the short term, the antidote might make youfeel better, but at a cost of masking the underlying problem andallowing it to fester.

Read the rest right here. (H/T Daily Dish.)