Tucker argues that the Haditha debacle is symptomatic of an overstretched military that can no longer tell enemies from noncombatants, and points out, citing Petraeus's own work, that each civilian death makes counterinsurgency work harder and more dangerous by contributing to general mistrust and rage towards the U.S. and thus to insurgent recruitment.

Haditha debacle is symptomatic of an overstretched military that can no longer tell enemies from noncombatants,

No offense, but it has been extremely difficult from day one to tell friend from foe. When there are no rank, insignia or uniforms it makes everyone a potential threat.

Not only that, but one of the clips here I recently read said that "kids would smile, wave and give thumbs up signs to our Humvee convoys and then as they passed, roll grenades under them." It is both cowardly and tragic that parents would put their own LITTLE children in harms way doing that. Civillan deaths indeed.

That's sort of the point. So much for being greeted as liberators. It seems to me that you're making a pretty good argument for the futility of remaining there, since our putative counterinsurgency effort seems to have transformed into a war against the entire population. We can't exactly win hearts and minds under those circumstances, and without winning hearts and minds, exactly what do we think we can accomplish? At least, that's how I think Tucker is understanding it.