From an interview with CNBC‘s Larry Kudlow:
KUDLOW: General Haig, … Can we do this troop surge, and will a heavier footprint in Iraq work in your judgment? HAIG (Former Secretary of State Under President Reagan): Well, I think the consequence of not having it has got to be considered. And, you know, I can understand people arguing both sides of this, because they have no confidence that either our country or our leadership seems unwilling to make the sacrifices that have to be made in order to prevail in this conflict. Don’t tell me a nation of … 300 million people can’t handle 25 million people and a bunch of bandits moving in from across borders, including Iran especially, and, of course, Syria as well. So, we just haven’t done it right. We’re going to have to pull up our socks. I do think a near-term infusion is the right thing to do. I think the secretary of defense will conclude that when he–when he adds that up against the calamity that our pullout prematurely, as recommended by the Baker Commission or study group, if that’s what it is, I don’t find it a very logical set of recommendations, although there are some good elements in it as well…. Well, first thing we have to recognize, Larry, this is not just Iraq and the Iraqi problem. It’s a major war with none other than Iran. Iran is the centerpiece of all of this, and the way we’ve been acting is very pusillanimously, sometimes condemning them and sometimes sucking up to them, as the Baker Commission recommended. Now, all of these things are wrong-headed. We should be mobilizing a great number of new ground troops for both the Marines and the United States Army, and both leaders of both services have so recommended.
