Surge Strategy Doomed by Dual Command Structure?

This article by Mark Benjamin at Salon.com highlights a fundamental flaw in Bush's surge strategy that commentators have largely overlooked. The plan calls for U.S. soldiers to be embedded with Iraqi troops, who will take the lead. However, the Amerians will take orders from U.S. officers, while the Iraqis take orders from Iraqi officers.

This dual command structure, apparently the result of a political deal with reluctant Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, violates basic military doctrine. Especially in a counter-insurgency operation, the resulting who's-in-command nightmare could quickly undermine the whole operation. It has drawn criticism from the Uber-Surge-Meister himself, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), as well as hawkish commentator Frederick Kagan. Military experts are stunned:

"It just shows you how flawed the whole scheme is," said retired Lt. Gen. William Odom, who was once the Army's senior intelligence officer, in an interview. Odom lamented that Iraq has been "just a bad nightmare" from the start. He said this White House continues to make mistakes that are "so painfully clear that sometimes I think I might be crazy."