Whose miscalculation?

One criticism we’re hearing of the war effort is that we didn’t send enough troops to Iraq initially. The fact that we’re sending more now is presented by some as indisputable evidence of miscalcualtion by the Admnistration. It is certainly possible that the Adminstration miscalculated. However, to me it seems more likely that it calculated wisely. There was always a good chance that Iraqi resistance would be limited to the point that the initial force we sent in (a substantial one) would defeat the regime. In that event, it would have been a mistake to have sent a larger force because it would have resulted in unnecessary cost. It turned out that a larger force is necessary, or at least desirable. That force is on the way. Since the initial force was large enough to get to Baghdad without suffering defeat or real damage, little has been lost by not sending in a larger force at the outset.

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