Hypothetical...You have complete control over the situation is Iraq.?

Question

What would you do to resolve the "war"? Please be as respectful as possible. I will post my answer later. Thank you!

Sorry, I didn't mean that the situation was under control, but that you are in complete control of the military.

Answer 1

1st I would put up predator drones and C130 gunships on constant 24/7 patrol all the way around the border and close all borders. Anyone attempting to infiltrate must be hostile so turn the C130s loose on them.
Then I would start from the northern most border and search every freakin house, hut, tent or compound and confiscate every weapon other than knives. Anybody that fights back dies right there.
As areas are cleared of hostiles begin something similar to the Marshall plan.
Yes we will miss some stashed weapons but with the influx stopped or greatly reduced it will make a large difference.

anyone living in the house with a suspected terrorist would be questioned.
Anyone arrested while armed would be interrogated very aggressively.
anyone giving aid to terrorists would have their homes destroyed with all personal possessions still inside.
They can keep the clothes on their backs.
Anywhere you actually capture insurgents or terrorists the building they are in and 2 on either side are also destroyed.

help them write a decent constitution like we did with both Germany and Japan.

No I am not Politically Correct but I am very effective using age old tried and true methods.

Answer 2

Look first of all there is no resolution to this type of war. The president declared years ago that all major operations were complete, at that point the conventional war ended. The question now becomes commitment of stability in the region and cost.

The Iraqi government has failed to meet any of the political goals set by the US. Out of the 16 goals (benchmarks) it has only made satisfactory progress in 2 and progress in 4 therefore more than half of the goals set by our government have not progressed at all.

The US is paying 2 billion dollars a week on the military operations in Iraq and the dollar amount in indirect aid may be two to three times that. There is no reason the Iraqi government to progress we do not bill them if they do not meet goals, we fight there war for them and train there military which we expect very little from other than securing an area after we have done all the fighting and dieing.

So to answer your question, we need a large presence in the area to react to any major insertion with in the country. This can be accomplished by military bases outside the city’s in the country side and in neighboring countries such as Kuwait. Place serious benchmarks for the Iraqi government and if they are not accomplished give them a bill for that period of deployment. Implement social programs so the Iraqi people can help themselves with civil maters. And apply political pressure on the region to provide direct aid to Iraq as they are the ones most directly affected by the issues in Iraq.

Answer 3

As far as military maneuvers , I respectfully decline to add my opinion over the opinion and knowledge of the man who wrote the book on the subject , 4-Star General David Petraeus .

However , I do have something to add that I would order the Iraqi Military to do for their own country .. .. . . .. I would order that vehicles patrol up and down the streets of Baghdad playing recordings reminding people that this was their last and only chance . Their last chance to come together and get tough cause the Americans are leaving soon and Iraq will fall if they don't do something about it NOW . I would inspire them to understand that they actually can make a difference . . . but only if they act NOW . And I would EMPHASIZE that they can either work with us or die !!

Answer 4

They have been so backwards for SO long that the installation of a democratic government may prove impossible unless is is strictly secular. Democracy and Islam are incompatible (http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Myths-of-Islam.htm#democracy).

Regardless, in the war with “radical Islam” a battle in Iran and Syria (and eventually Saudi) is inevitable.

You may not agree but, strategically a base in Iraq will benefit the West in these endeavors (I suspect that is the primary reason we went in the first place, the removal of Saddam being secondary).

I say we stay for these reasons.

Answer 5

Continue the leadership training for the Iraqi military. Creating leaders in a brand new army takes time. They need to be coached, mentored, and experienced or they become the "Shake and Bake" leadership that failed us in Vietnam. The Legislative Branch however is a different matter. Each area we are improving in Iraq has experts in the field to establish an infrastructure, for instance military training military, prison officials from here are training prison officials there, water purification and sewage experts here training their personnel. Our so called "Career Politicians" in Congress seem to be the experts in legislation and we (voters) should hold them accountable for the success or failure of the Iraqi Parliament.

Answer 6

I think it would be very difficult to "resolve" the war. As long as we treat Iran like a stepchild, we will have problems. What gets overlooked in most cases is that Saddam was a minority leader in that he represented the minority sect in the country. The majority of the country is the same as Iran, that is why Iran has such influence in this war.

The US has to grit its teeth and try to be friendly to Iran to create more stability in the region. We can't forget, that the youth in Iran are pro-western and will not be held down forever as they begin to age and take over the institutions in the country.

As for Iraq itself, we have to educate the populace. A large majority of the population has always lived under a dictator and may not understand how to be free. We need to make it clear that our troops are transitional and not a permanent police force.

The biggest mistake, in my opinion, was disbanding the army. Most of those serving where doing so against their will and would have gladly taken the reigns in policing the country.

Again, only my thoughts. I'm interesting in seeing the responses to your question.

Answer 7

If we have complete control then the job is done... hand it over to the Iraqi's and come home.

Answer 8

All the terrorists there need to die so they can't fight us here.