Is the war in Iraq winnable? How?

Question

Despite our attempts at having elections in Iraq, many Iraqis still appear to value loyalty to their "tribe" over loyalty to the nation. How do we extinguish the civil war? If we support the Sunnis, we are supporting Saddam's buds. If we support the Shi'as, we are supporting Iran's allies. Neither the Sunnis nor the Shi'as will accept Kurdish supremacy. So how do we win?

Answer 1

It is not winnable, militarily. The longer we stay, the more troops we send there, and the more money we pour into Iraq, the worse it becomes. The Iraq Study Group headed by James Baker III, won't come out with recommendations until after the election -- another partisan concession: "Let's not confuse voters with facts and information." Not so different than the Senate's Intelligence Committee's long delayed report on how bad intelligence was misused. Another "hold the facts until after the presidential election" gambit.

All your supporting information about the Shai'as, the Sunnis, and the Kurds conflicting agendas was known and utterly disregarded by arrogant leaders brimming over with unaccountable self-esteem.

The effort to create a thriving pro-western power in the middle east would have been possible had the invasion of Iraq not happened. By employing all methods except military: diplomatic, aid, business partnerships, education, and intelligence gathering. Unfortunately our country choose leaders who lack understanding of complex matters who are unable to learn and admit mistakes. It will take years to recover from the errors of this administration that undermined almost every executive department. Bush and company wanted to win and to rule, but were never prepared to lead.

Answer 2

We keep hearing how if we pull out, Iraq will fall into civil war, and civil war is the worst possible end result after all of our years there. but why can't we just do this:

Shift ideology completely, admit that our presence there isn't making much of a difference... and then stop pretending like civil war is such a bad thing. Explain that there is nothing we can do to prevent civil war, since its what the people of Iraq obviously want, so why not let them have it. Innocents will die of course, but s**t happens, it's war. You can't save everyone. Besides they're dying anyway in record numbers.

So if we pull the troops and let the Sunnis and the Shites sort out their crap for the next 5 or so years until theres a clear winner, we can make trade relations with the leader of the winning side, to get access to the oil (since that's really the only reason we went in the first place despite all the rhetoric). And if this new leader doesn't want to play nice, take him out like we did Saddam...let civil war ensue again...repeat ad nauseism.

Ok maybe it's not all touchy-feely like "LETS SPREAD DEMOCRACY!!!" but still it would probably be a better approach since it could actually work, plus it frees up our military for things that actually might make a difference.

Answer 3

I think that you answer this question yourself in that the loyalty the Iraq's have to the tribes. This war was never about winning. It was PR for the war on terror and bush won. Just as you have republicans argueing with democrats, you find the sunnis fighting with the Shi'as. So as far as the west is concerned the war is won, but the long term implications of trying to get the political side of things running will take years.

Answer 4

It is, but by undiplomatic approaches.

Ideally, we would build a consensus of support from other nations and then literally go to war with the problem areas of Iraq. Instead of using Marines as law enforcement, they would actually become soldiers.

Then, once you have overwhelmed and neutralized the problem geographic locations, you provide a short term of international enforcement until the Iraqi army is able to take over.

Even then, there is no guarantee of peace. It took a couple decades to build back Japan after World War II, and you have to get the country's economy back to self-sufficiency and diversity before the country becomes sustainable.

Few people ever thought this process was going to be easy.

Answer 5

Well, the Kurds are happy to be left alone in the north. The Tigris and Euphredes splits the rest of the country into three pieces. Give one side to the Sunnis, give the other to the Shi'as and put everyone else in the middle.

Answer 6

Yes, the war is winnable if the Americans heed to the advice given by regional powers such as Iran and Syria. Otherwise, it will last long with no winner at all. Iran can be a good ally for the US in this regard, if the white house has the will for it. Treating Iranians as enemies was a big mistake. They can prove to be good regional advisors if concessions are given to them in return.

Answer 7

'It is winnable. The problem with wars the USA has been involved with since Viet Nam is that the politicians think they know how to run a military better than the military does. If Bush would ignore all those stupid polls and loud mouth liberals and turn the Iraq thing over to the military and tell them to "Git er done", it would be over in a matter of a couple of weeks. We know where these terrorists are, but the politicians keep holding our troops back because they don't want to hurt anyones "feelings" . It's war and people die, plain and simple, and if you don't have the stomach for it, we are doomed.

Answer 8

I know we seem to think that we deserve to know everything that is coming out of the Pentagon. If we the public knew, don't you think the enemy would know? It does not bode well for Iraq to have a civil war. I feel very confident about this President and the leadership of Iraq to do what they have to do to minimize the harm this will cause the Iraqi citizens.

Answer 9

1. We allow the zealots to kill themselves off. Exactly like what is happening now.
2. We assist the Iraq's in setting up a Democratic government. Like we are doing now.
3. We assist the Iraqi Armed forces in eliminating foreign fighters. Kind of like what we are doing now.
4. We help secure election sites so Iraqi's can hold a free elections. Just like we have already done.

So the answer to your question is, allow President George W. Bush to do his damned job and stop crying when something goes bad!

Answer 10

we leave, and let someone else babysit their civil war. We don't take sides, as they don't need to represent us. As for how do we find a middle ground between western ideals and muslim law, I don't know. I was never sold on the concept that democracy is right for everyone. Pretty arrogant to assume , I think. Good question