Z Quote

In the war against the militias, every door American troops crash through, every civilian bystander shot - there will be many - will make matters worse, for a while. Nevertheless, the first task of the occupation remains the first task of government: to establish a monopoly on violence....Regime change, occupation, nation-building - in a word, empire - is a bloody business. Now Americans must steel themselves for administering the violence necessary to disarm or defeat Iraq's urban militias, which replicate the problem of modern terrorism - violence that has slipped the leash of states.