Oh well...

Remember the one lone battalion that was capable of operating alone in Iraq? Nevermind. They just got downgraded to a level 2.

Kevin Drum have some astute observations -- we seem to have a heck of a lot of level two battalions. Is it too cynical to note that level two is the top level you can "achieve" without being expected to operate independently?

I suspect it's fairly easy to fudge the difference between level 2 and level 3. But you can't do that with level 1. A battalion can either operate on its own or it can't. The fact that not one single level 2 battalion has made it to level 1 in the past year suggests that perhaps games are being played with the level 2 designation.

So basically, take any boasting about how many level two battalions we've trained with a pinch of salt -- like any boasting about how many #3s of Al Qaida we've killed.

Of course, I guess this is becoming increasingly moot with the prospects of all-out civil war in Iraq. As Drum also observed, the armies are mostly loyal to local theocrats anyhoo.