. . . dangerous failures in Iraq's economic reconstruction are undermining progress on the security and political fronts. U.S. commanders are the first to admit that this war will not be won by the military alone. "You are not going to shoot yourself out of this problem," says Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of daily operations in Iraq. Of the estimated $300 billion spent by Washington so far in Iraq, just $21 billion has been allocated for reconstruction, and perhaps half this amount has been redirected to pressing security needs. U.S. funding, which runs out this year just as a new Iraqi government will need to show tangible economic progress, is a small fraction of the estimated $70 billion to $100 billion that Iraqi reconstruction may ultimately require.

This strategic failure is a direct result of something else I observed: Only one element of the U.S. government -- the military -- seems to be treating Iraq as "the vital national interest" that President Bush declares it to be. Across Iraq, military personnel are heroically managing local reconstruction and development projects for which they lack the proper training or tools. Meanwhile, back in the Green Zone, hundreds of civilian positions -- from the departments of State, Justice, Commerce and Agriculture -- go unfilled.

U.S. commanders expressed frustration that dozens of Justice Department billets sit empty despite Iraq's urgent need for help in developing a functioning judicial system. American troops like my son describe risking their lives to arrest suspected insurgents, testifying in Iraqi courts and then watching in frustration as the offenders are tossed back on the streets. In government, as in business, refusing to devote the resources and personnel to a strategic priority is a recipe for disaster. . . .