The End of the Affair

It appears that Rear-Colonel F. Kagan of AEI is the anti-Cupid who finally smashed up a beautiful and dreamy romance:

There are only 512 days until George Bush leaves the White House and his departure cannot come quickly enough. ... And still it is hard for some on this side of the Atlantic to admit how damaging the consequences of his period in office have been. It should be especially shaming for those of us in that dwindling band prepared to admit that we were enthusiastic supporters of the Iraq war (I plead guilty), and even worse for those of us persuaded as far back as the tail end of the last century that this man had the attributes and inclinations which would make him a successful president (guilty again). ... In light of that [Boy-n'-Party failure in the former Iraq] the sustained attacks on our brave forces by senior advisers to a failed President are even more offensive; his arrogance and incompetence is compounded by rudeness. What began with comments by General Keane, in a candid interview with the Sunday Telegraph last weekend, picked up pace throughout the week and has been given a new intensity today by the intervention of Frederick Kagan. An architect of the US surge in Iraq, he has some fairly choice things to say about the "Brits" in southern Iraq: our troops have done too little to stabilise Basra, their withdrawal will cause resentment on the part of US troops, and as a nation we misunderstand al-Qaeda's threat.

There's a great deal more Torygraph wallowing in self-pity over Greater Texan ingratitude where that came from , but let us have a bit of Fatso's side of it, shall we?

In an outspoken interview, Mr Kagan condemned British politicians for failing to understand how best to tackle Islamic extremists, and for refusing to increase the size of the Armed Forces so they could pull their full weight in Iraq. Details of the number of US troops required to take over were disclosed by a senior British officer, who asked not to be named. He also revealed that commanders at the Ministry of Defence were "irritated" by the growing criticism from the US of their handling of Basra. To fill the vacuum, US Army chiefs may have to break a promise not to extend operational tours in Iraq beyond the current 15 month maximum, or risk diverting a significant number of the extra soldiers currently in Baghdad for the troop surge. Mr Kagan, who has just returned from Iraq, said: "The likeliest effect of British withdrawal from Basra is to keep an American unit in country for longer than they would like. I do worry about the short term effects on the relationship between the two countries. It will create bad feeling with American soldiers if they can't go home because the British have left ."

And there's a great deal more where that came from as well.

Justus comedit et replet animam suam; venter autem impiorum insaturabilis.