Counterinsurgency takes 11 years, Abazaid says

" 'Insurgencies are not easily solved by foreign troops,' he [retiring Centcom commander Gen. John Abizaid] warns. Only Iraqi security forces can stabilize the country in a lasting way, and America's mission is training and advising those forces. That's where patience comes in: America is four years into a process that, by Abizaid's reading of counterinsurgency history, takes an average of about 11 years. On that timetable, less than halfway through, he thinks the United States is doing okay in Iraq -- assuming it has the patience to finish the mission."

By Washington Post columnist David Ignatius.

source
Ignatius, David. (The Washington Post). Abizaid's Long View. March 16, 2007.

posted: sunday, march 18, 2007, 8:36 AM ET

tags: iraq abizaid counterinsurgency