To Resolve and Insurgency - Part IV
Previous posts can be read here, Part I, Part II, Part III.
Part IV, below, is the final part in this series.
For its part, the US should start to focus its forces beyond Iraq and into Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
The Iraqi war was won; Saddam was caught, tried, and is now convicted to hang within 30 days. The Iraqi Army was destroyed and any WMD that Iraq had is now not a threat to the US or its allies. The Ba’ath party will not regain control of Iraq in the near future. These completed tasks were the war objectives and they have been achieved. For too long, the US has stayed on the defensive as the externally funded and supported insurgency continued to grow and gain power in Iraq.
As the recognized financier of the Shi’ite militias and a thorn in the side for the Middle East with its development of nuclear weapons and support for Hezbollah, the US should bomb Iranian nuclear sites as a warning to Iran to stay in its lane and not attempt to propagate its Shi’ite Crescent in the Middle East. This will have the added effect of slowing and possibly stopping their nuclear development. It will also show other Middle East countries that the US will protect its Iraqi brothers which it has invested so many dollars and Soldiers blood into to make a democracy. In turn, it will solve the Shi’ite problem for many other Middle East countries.
Syria should also be bombed in much the same fashion as Lybia was bombed in 1986. Through backdoor channels, we should express in no uncertain terms that either Syria stop supporting the flow of insurgents/arms across its borders into Iraq and flow of arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon or we will bomb Assad’s country again and may just get lucky to get him.
The US should keep up diplomatic pressure on Jordan and Saudi Arabia. They are currently assisting in the Global War on Terror and need to be continually pushed to make sure they maintain their focus and diligence. Bombing Iran and Syria would bring home our resolve to them.
Similarly, we should bomb known terrorist safe havens in the Pakistani tribal areas in support of our mission in Afghanistan. The fact that we observe terrorists passing back and forth along this porous border to/from training camps into Afghanistan and do not strike them is absurd.
We should also be assisting in Somalia. Foreign fighter are arriving in boats to support this war and will probably soon be departing in boats for other areas. We should have the navy blockade the coastline give a free trip to Guantanamo for any Al Qeada personnel we find.
Finally, President Bush needs to nationalize this global war. He needs to have weekly televised addresses to the nation spelling out the good Soldiers are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan and showing graphically the bad that insurgents are doing. There is plenty of good on our side and plenty of bad on their side; our news media just isn’t reporting it accurately. President Bush can do a lot to provide fairness to Americans by graphically showing Americans every week. He can also equal out the propaganda imbalance the insurgents have enjoyed for quite some time by showing the truth about our side and theirs.
Are more troops needed in Iraq? Yes and No. If we continue to execute a regional defensive war solely in Iraq, the answer is no. More troops will only mean more deaths. If we begin to offensively prosecute the war against the parties who are perpetuating the insurgency, then yes, troop levels may need to be increased in the short term to assist in border defense and Iraqi forces training. We need to strike at the insurgents’ logistical capabilities, namely Iran and Syria to influence Iraq and Pakistan tribal areas to influence Afghanistan. What is needed more than more troops is to supply the Iraqi and Afghanistan Armies with better equipment so that they are not on a 1:1 footing with insurgents.
We need to learn a lesson from Ethiopia. If we have the will to fight, insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot possibly win. In fact, they typically flee and take cover in caves. We need to push them out of their safe havens back into caves. We need to arm the Iraqi and Afghanistani Armies so they are better able to deal with insurgents. We need to share our intelligence with these forces and let them take the fight to insurgents.
We need to take the fight to the Islamist’s supporter. They have bundled us up in Afghanistan and Iraq while we clearly see their basis of support coming from Iran, Syria, and the tribal areas of Pakistan. We are fighting this war on their terms. We need to change strategy and begin fighting this war on our terms.
Part IV, below, is the final part in this series.
For its part, the US should start to focus its forces beyond Iraq and into Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
The Iraqi war was won; Saddam was caught, tried, and is now convicted to hang within 30 days. The Iraqi Army was destroyed and any WMD that Iraq had is now not a threat to the US or its allies. The Ba’ath party will not regain control of Iraq in the near future. These completed tasks were the war objectives and they have been achieved. For too long, the US has stayed on the defensive as the externally funded and supported insurgency continued to grow and gain power in Iraq.
As the recognized financier of the Shi’ite militias and a thorn in the side for the Middle East with its development of nuclear weapons and support for Hezbollah, the US should bomb Iranian nuclear sites as a warning to Iran to stay in its lane and not attempt to propagate its Shi’ite Crescent in the Middle East. This will have the added effect of slowing and possibly stopping their nuclear development. It will also show other Middle East countries that the US will protect its Iraqi brothers which it has invested so many dollars and Soldiers blood into to make a democracy. In turn, it will solve the Shi’ite problem for many other Middle East countries.
Syria should also be bombed in much the same fashion as Lybia was bombed in 1986. Through backdoor channels, we should express in no uncertain terms that either Syria stop supporting the flow of insurgents/arms across its borders into Iraq and flow of arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon or we will bomb Assad’s country again and may just get lucky to get him.
The US should keep up diplomatic pressure on Jordan and Saudi Arabia. They are currently assisting in the Global War on Terror and need to be continually pushed to make sure they maintain their focus and diligence. Bombing Iran and Syria would bring home our resolve to them.
Similarly, we should bomb known terrorist safe havens in the Pakistani tribal areas in support of our mission in Afghanistan. The fact that we observe terrorists passing back and forth along this porous border to/from training camps into Afghanistan and do not strike them is absurd.
We should also be assisting in Somalia. Foreign fighter are arriving in boats to support this war and will probably soon be departing in boats for other areas. We should have the navy blockade the coastline give a free trip to Guantanamo for any Al Qeada personnel we find.
Finally, President Bush needs to nationalize this global war. He needs to have weekly televised addresses to the nation spelling out the good Soldiers are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan and showing graphically the bad that insurgents are doing. There is plenty of good on our side and plenty of bad on their side; our news media just isn’t reporting it accurately. President Bush can do a lot to provide fairness to Americans by graphically showing Americans every week. He can also equal out the propaganda imbalance the insurgents have enjoyed for quite some time by showing the truth about our side and theirs.
Are more troops needed in Iraq? Yes and No. If we continue to execute a regional defensive war solely in Iraq, the answer is no. More troops will only mean more deaths. If we begin to offensively prosecute the war against the parties who are perpetuating the insurgency, then yes, troop levels may need to be increased in the short term to assist in border defense and Iraqi forces training. We need to strike at the insurgents’ logistical capabilities, namely Iran and Syria to influence Iraq and Pakistan tribal areas to influence Afghanistan. What is needed more than more troops is to supply the Iraqi and Afghanistan Armies with better equipment so that they are not on a 1:1 footing with insurgents.
We need to learn a lesson from Ethiopia. If we have the will to fight, insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot possibly win. In fact, they typically flee and take cover in caves. We need to push them out of their safe havens back into caves. We need to arm the Iraqi and Afghanistani Armies so they are better able to deal with insurgents. We need to share our intelligence with these forces and let them take the fight to insurgents.
We need to take the fight to the Islamist’s supporter. They have bundled us up in Afghanistan and Iraq while we clearly see their basis of support coming from Iran, Syria, and the tribal areas of Pakistan. We are fighting this war on their terms. We need to change strategy and begin fighting this war on our terms.
posted by Lieutenant Colonel Caveman at Sunday, December 31, 2006
1 Comments:
I agree, mostly. I think we should also promise to blow up mecca unless this crap is stopped yesterday! By now you know that the islamist cowards have fled Somalia. I'm surprised you are not aware we have been monitering the coast. We've been at the HOA for years! :)
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