They cannot solve problems by throwing money at them

William Lind notes the rise in Afghanistan of a domestic "middle" force opposed to both the Taliban and the coalition forces and how the rise of such forces ultimately signal when the occupying forces should leave. In Iraq, such a time has probably arrived, although Lind doubts the U.S. military will take heed:

The American military will probably ignore all this, as it ignores military theory generally. European militaries do pay attention to military theory, in part because they know they cannot solve problems by throwing money at them and in part because the 20th Century taught them the perils of Great Power hubris. Europe can do little to affect the war in Iraq, but if the Europeans were to decide that the moment to leave Afghanistan had arrived, the U.S. government would have to listen.

Commenting on the Lind piece, newsjarheaddean sagely observes:

And I find the fallowing most curious, “Europe can do little to affect the war in Iraq, but if the Europeans were to decide to leave Afg. the U.S. gov would have to listen”. Here I’m amazed at how governments are looked upon as so limited and yet the prime foe (in GWOT) is nothing but small organizations. This suggests that Exxon/Mobil could defeat US with an insurgency. Or maybe they already have with lobbyist and thus the odd strategies and tactics. Or maybe US is “playing war” for the MIC. IMO one thing is for sure US tax payers are getting ripped off.