You have just been elected U.S. President. What is your vision of the best strategy with the Iraq conflict?

Answer 1

Announce an exit date and stick to it.

Answer 2

I would gather more world support and perhaps even NATO. Europe still owes us after all the rebuilding that they made after WWII with our money. So even if not by sending us any troops they can at least help with intelliegence. I would also use Middle Eastern allies for the same reason. I would bring in Special Ops units, perhaps from the EU or other countries in the region and use them more in tracking down and eliminating enemy hide outs. I would call on Muslim leaders everywhere to crack down on the radicals and start teaching the truth about these murderers. There needs to be a tighter control on the high risk borders. Also there needs to be a fair unity government both Shias and Sunnis. There still seems to be a rift there. How can the people be expected to unify if their government is not even able to do so? After the death of al-Zarqawi, there is a need to go more on the offense and not just stop with those 17(?) other raids.

Answer 3

I remember a story on 60 Minutes about a satellite tv station in Los Angeles. It served mainly the expatriate Iranian population in California.

One day, a technician accidentally redirected the satellite feed. It went to.......... no joke......... IRAN.

In a few weeks, all these Iranians who previously revered the Ayatollahs were now openly mocking them. What accounted for this abrupt change? The tv shows they had seen from the U.S. revealed how riduculous the Ayatollahs were. These religious leaders were exposed for their ignorance, their stupidity, their backward ideas, and the Iranians stopped thinking of them as great leaders and saw them as pathetic relics.

That is how we should have approached Iraq, right from the start. Billboards, tv, radio, newpaper, magazine.... everything. We should have exposed Saddam and his two despicable sons for the vile monsters they were. As Mel Brookes has taught us, the power of humor is devasting. It can topple dictators. Ridicule through humor sends the intended message like a red hot poker through butter. This is why Mel Brookes always ridicules Hitler instead of denouncing him in a serious movie. Humor did the job better.

That, in a nutshell, is my strategy. Giving the Iraqis a fresh point of view, give them a window to the outside world. Let them see the Western world as it really is... that would win their hearts and minds.

Ignorance is the terrorists' best weapon. The truth is our best weapon.

Answer 4

I would pull the troops out. Then I would pull all of our services from every country that didn't support us in Iraq. Including the ones that only sent one or two thousand troops.Then I would station our military along our borders and coastlines. I would eject the United Nations (because I believe they should be the entity that enforces their sanctions). Not the US. If the U.N. can't do their job, then why do they exist. They allow places like Somalia and Darfur to simmer, then boil over until it's too late help. They are to blame for the mess that the world is in now.

Answer 5

1) Get some of the other coalition countries and partial supporters to take on police recruits and get them trained faster, and in fact bring as many as we can here and get them trained out of harms way.

2) Demand the Iraqi government sell us oil at $10 a barrell below the world market until our expense in liberating their country is covered (that will be a long time).

3) Help them close the border with Iran, with extreme force if necessary. I would not hesitate to send troops into Iranian territory if it was believed the targets we're insurgents heading into Iraq. Same with Syria.

4) In extreme cases like they had with Faluja last summer; its time to quardon off the area, invite everyone to leave, search them for weapons, set a deadline, and then carpet bomb the place and bulldoze the remains.

Answer 6

THOROUGHLY sweep the country of all explosives, ammunition, chemicals - anything that can be used as bomb material. This means totally evacuating cities until cleared by armed forces who would inspect very thoroughly. After the all clear, have tight control of who goes back into the city. Making all persons entering strip naked to pass through the check point and put on fresh clothing after passing through. In the process, record each individuals personal info. - finger print, dna, etc. Make laws and enforce them. Pull out all innocent people not fighting and wanting out. Shut down all automotive travel save the military and police. Begin educating the young the truth of the lies they have been taught for ions. Stop all congregations of people outside where bombers and gunners are able in inflict harm to the masses. Put up barracaids to stop vehicular traffic from coming within 500 feet of any building.

male, 45, Louisiana

Answer 7

Appoint Judge Judy as Secretary of State and send her to the Middle East with orders not to return until there is peace. She´ll be back sooner than we think! During this peroid NO journalist will be allowed in the zone. (They sometimes just complicate matters) Solutions based on common sense, law and justice.

Answer 8

Cancel plans for a permanent embassy and permanent military bases. Inform the current leaders that, as soon as the police force is trained and a stable government equally representative of ALL the people is in place, we'll leave. And keep our promise. We don't need more troops there, we need fewer.

Answer 9

there are only two paths at this point. send in more troops, cut out the bull about iraqis taking care of things themselves (remember johnson and his remark about asian boys fighting instead of american boys..?), and get it through our heads we'll be occuppiers for the next generation with the costs that will entail. the other alternative is get out, hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. and the worst can be a lot worse than where we're at now. realistically, i think the only way to go now is the first, trying to avoid a second vietnam. sad but true. but we have no one else to blame but ourselves. and we pay for our mistakes, like in all wars, with our blood and our treasure.

Answer 10

I heard Obama say that it's like we drove a bus in a ditch. You shouldn't be there, but once you are there is no easy exit.

I think I would actually work on their economy--like a Marshall plan. Give the out of work soldiers something to do.

Answer 11

every body has to stick together i e the u n or even better draw up new legislation throughout the whole world ,i mean people like Saddam Hussein should not have allies the whole world should be against dictators like him who kill innocent people just because they disagree or say no we are in the 21 century people should not be living like this in this day and age just because its not happening across the street doesn't mean we should just walk away and let thousands of people die