Reply #11: I wondered about that.

[lapfog_1]

But the purpose is likely not the benefits thing, it's the public
relations thing. They want this war to appear to be as benign as
possible, after all, we are 15 months AFTER "Mission: Accomplished".
So the fewer lost in combat the better. Since we "turned over"
Iraq to it's new government (which, from all accounts, is picking
up right where Saddam left off), we have been in a much more defensive
posture (keeping to the various "green zones" in the major cities.
Nobody wants to go on convoy duty to move supplies (and now they
are changing from truck convoy - cheap - to airlift - expensive).
We only go out to fight when the provisional government begs, and
then we let their "police force" take most of the heavy flak.