Is there a viable military solution in Iraq?

Question

If so, please outline the steps. If not, what alternative solution makes sense.

Answer 1

Watch or listen to CSPAN now. There is a hearing on that. The General just said We need more troops, another said, We need an exit strategy.
In one month the Baker meet will be over and then and only then will we will know anything.
My opinion is that there should be 3, one Sunni, one Shiite and one Kurd. Each with their own accepted borders, and all sharing equally in any oil revenues from all 3 Countries or States.
The Shia and Sunni are never going to get along, and the Kurds just add an extra element of dispute. So give them all 3 equally shares of land, in relation to their original lands and with some acknowledgment as to Census Status, i.e. 3million Shia, 3million acre, 2 million Sunnis 2 million acres, 1million Kurds, 1 million acre. Or something like that. Seems fair, they all get Oil Revenues equally, and no one is or can take anothers land.

Answer 2

I cannot see a viable solution. We don't have enough troops available to bury the problem in soldiers. The govt is part of the problem as it is supported by the shite militia's. The constitution in Iraq doesn't allow for the country to be separated into a confederation. So the only option is to do away with the constitution and separate the country into three groups Kurds,Sunni and shite. This won't stop the fighting but it will stop the fighting from spreading to other countries. This would happen because the fight would stop being a religious crusade and become a nationalist one each group fighting for it's new country until they wear themselves out. My bet is in the end there will be a Kurdistan, Shiastan. The Sunni's I expect will eventually be driven off,surrendered or busted up and live under the two main groups rule.

Answer 3

The first question should be was IRAQ a military problem?

But that is in the past, NOW that the military is there and the country is in a state of complete collapse, we need to figure out a way to fix the mess.

1) LAW & ORDER
Iraq is currently being run my militias (not by the government that was elected). The reason for the militias is that law and order wasn't provided by the occupiers so the locals picked up the slack (or filled the power vacuum created by the collapse of the government).

Now that we have a bunch of militias running the county (thing a really really massive GANG war in a US city), they will not give up power and they want revenge for other killings, then the other militias will want revenge, etc so on and so fourth.

So what can be done?

I think the United States needs to bring in some NON- Christian troops. Syria and Iran can be given control of security in selective parts of Iraq. Iran already controls the Shiites so it isn't a real stretch. Syria is Sunni so they should take the responsibility of protecting their own.

Answer 4

The military solution was achieved with the fall of Baghdad and the capture of Saddam. It is the political solution that there needs to be an answer for.
Military solution and political solution are two completely different things, and there is a definite need to separate the two or there never will be a solution.
So get the military out and send in the lawyers so they can make a real mess of things.

Answer 5

There is no clear and viable military option.

The only viable solution is for the Iraqi government to come down hard against those killing each other(sunni and shia).

Until the Iraqi govt can do this, the US military can't leave. They are really the only thing keeping the Iraqis from civil war. Civil war in Iraq will only allow terrorist groups to create bases of operations and expand.

Answer 6

I liked what one person said: Iraq isn't now, and never was a military problem. It was a political problem, handled the wrong way.

Now we have troops there doing what? Acting as peacekeepers until Iraq is willing to do that job.

Well, while we are there, Iraq WON'T do that...so as I see it, the only way is to start pulling units, let Iraq take those sections, train their own people, and then pull other units...until we are out.

Answer 7

Absolutely, first and foremost is to stop letting politicians decide how to fight the war from 6000+ miles away!! Second, stop molly-coddling terrorists and giving them the same rights and privileges as American citizens - do not apply Geneva Conventions to them as it does not apply. Americans must stop humanizing these people (for lack of a better term), they are not human and they are NOT fighting with a rule book or code of honor. They have no honor and their ONLY goal is to DESTROY EVERYONE not like them, so our Troops need to be given the latitude to fight this war the way it needs to be fought - and that means untying their hands and stop the ACLU types from interfering!!

Answer 8

not to pull out all at once maybe i will agree in phases but not all at once our else more than a few dozen iraq will die. plus it is what we in 91 they hated us for it. and for us to be patent in the name of freedom and peace.