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Ok you win, ONE out of how many?

All of them. You're just too proud to admit it. It's the mark of a small mind. I keep hoping you'll grow as a human being and find the courage to admit your errors.

That's me, always hoping for the best from others regardless of the trail of tears and disappointments along the way.

There are also tactical considerations that maybe in play as well. Again this is 21st century warfare.

I'm sure that invoking your little totem of "21st century warfare" makes you feel all warm and snuggly as you cower under your bed to re-read some tiresome corny Tom Clancy novel. In fact, the only real innovation of 21st century warfare (Rumsfeld's force structuring and basing notions) is a complete and utter bust. Our new drone capabilities are a fulfillment of programs going back to the twentieth and in fact were delayed by Air Force opposition who really don't like planes without pilots in them. For obvious reasons.

The limited success we've presently had in Iraq in pacification relies upon the sound military experience of the 20th and previous centuries. Reinforcing your troops by committing your reserves to achieve pacification against guerillas goes back centuries actually, however you might wish to utter lofty phrases about the "21st century".

What a shame we had to lose or cripple so many soldiers before the '06 election forced Rumsfeld and his failed "21st century" policies out of office. History will not be kind to this episode, largely because it failed so obviously and no corrective military action was taken until after a political crisis. And that is pretty damning, no matter who is writing the history.