The New York Times published a stunning article today on our new get tough campaign in Iraq. If you’re too lazy to read it, it basically explains how we’re using the tactics Israel uses in the occupied territories in Iraq. You’d think that if we’re studing Israel’s tactics, we’d study their overall effect. In any case, I hope most American soldiers don’t share this sentiment:

“You have to understand the Arab mind,” Capt. Todd Brown, a company commander with the Fourth Infantry Division, said as he stood outside the gates of Abu Hishma. “The only thing they understand is force — force, pride and saving face.”

If that view is widely held, I honestly think we and the Iraqis would be better off if we just pulled out our troops right now.