Here’s a quote that puts the current “surge” and the whole American occupation in Iraq into context. The quote is 90 years old and resonates no less today than when T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia), sagely said it.
“Do not try to do too much with your own hands. Better the Arabs do it tolerably than that you do it perfectly,” explained Lawrence. “It is their war, and you are to help them, not to win it for them. Actually, also, under the very odd conditions of Arabia, your practical work will not be as good as, perhaps, you think it is.”