Anything published is subject to copyright, even if the holder doesn't explicitly claim it.

You were correct not to copy the whole thing. You did copy the whole of the quote you include. Fair Use allows no more than 10% of the whole. (I doubt that Glenn Reynolds will sue. Probably his anonymous contributor, whom you quote in full, will not either. Both would be entitled to do so, though. Just a thought.) The art is to select a portion or portions which will encourage the reader to seek the rest.

The thought behind the "more boots on the ground" theory is that more strategic, humanitarian and cultural sites could have been secured to avoid the theft (especially of armaments, but of other things too), random vandalism and strategic vandalism that occurred, not to mention short-circuiting some of the personal violence by guerillas, so that the occupation would have started with more of what was left in a usable, secure condition. As a police presence discourages criminal activity, the lack of a presence of authority encourages it.

The lack of security and lack of services have been big complaints consistently among a wide cross-section of Iraqis. Security provides the bedrock for civil society. Services provide for vibrant economic and social development. How ironic that the supposed objectives (this week) of this administration in waging war in Iraq should have been undermined by the lack of its most basic ingredients, because a civilian was so convinced of his superior ideas that he didn't listen to his military associates.