Cognitive Dissonance

Military strategist Max Boot has a lucid and sobering article in Commentary Magazine about the possibilities for our continued involvement in Iraq:

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/cm/main/viewArticle.html?id=10920&page=all

I personally fully agree with his conclusions from a strategic perspective, and the optimist in me along with what I've experienced first-hand in Ramadi believes it is our best shot and also even possible. It seems to me Mr Boot charts the best course of any commentator thus far, even if he does so by drawing out the wretched alternatives to the surge and the current strategy. However, from my perspective, I'm not so sure he has adequately addressed the strain on the military--especially the Army. From what I've seen, most junior officers are already getting out. Fifteen month deployments are difficult to bear for equipment and personnel, especially in a counterinsurgency where tangible results are nearly impossible to quantify, and a tactical success may not guarantee your buddy won't die in a suicide vest attack the next day. For any soldier you might find who wants to stay and "finish the job," you'll find another simply trying to figure out what that job is he is trying to finish, or another who is just trying to survive another day.

I confess I have cognitive dissonance about the war. Though I think we must stay the course and finish what we started, I surely don't want that person finishing the job to be me if I can help it.