The comment came last week in the midst of a U.S. offensive against a suspected terrorist camp in what they're starting to call the "Sunni triangle" region north and west of Baghdad. This was the first time since the statue of Saddam Hussein came down that the United States used coordinated air and ground strikes in a classic military assault. Dozens of Iraqis were killed and a U.S. helicopter was shot down.

The action marked a notable increase in military activity, apparently prompted by organized and activist Baath Party loyalist resistance, perhaps inspired by a still-alive Saddam Hussein offering bounties for the deaths of American servicepeople. But the war's aftermath has been tense from the beginning. About 40 Americans have been killed in attacks and ambushes since the overthrow of Saddam.

Among the more disturbing reports is that many of the fighters carrying out guerrilla-style attacks on U.S. forces are from other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Syria. It could be that U.S. occupation forces in Iraq are starting to become a magnet for disaffected Arabs and/or Islamic fundamentalist radicals from throughout the region.

Fighting continued through the weekend, with four Americans wounded by rocket-propelled grenades on Sunday, followed by an all-out military assault on the town of Khaldiyah on Monday.

Also on Monday an unidentified "very senior British official in Baghdad" told London's Daily Telegraph that the occupation "is the single most chaotic organization I have ever worked for" and it "suffers from an almost complete absence of strategic direction." Numerous stories tell of infighting between State Department and Defense Department officials over radically different visions of Iraq's future.

Some will argue that this difficulty makes it more important than ever that the United States commit to a long-term stabilization program.

We suggest that the reverse is the case. An aggressive U.S. presence is not an incentive for Iraqi leaders to step forward and assume more authority and responsibility. If an Iraq run by Iraqis is our goal, as administration spokespeople insist, the United States should begin reducing its visibility now - not because we are intimidated, but because we actually believe in Iraqi independence.