Andrew Longman, whoever he is, has an interesting solution how to win in Iraq that makes more sense than anything we can expect in the Baker Report. He writes in part in WorldNetDaily:
First, the No. 1 rule in Islamist-Arab politics is … kill the head guy. He who kills the head guy becomes the new head guy. Brutal, unpleasant, but true. So? The USA does not have legitimacy in the eyes of the Shia rebellion because it hasn't killed Muqtada al Sadr outright. Because he is still around they believe he must be more powerful. So they follow him. Put a cruise missile through his window and he becomes instantly less popular......
Next, the fact is when you waffle and promise troop reductions in the press, the terrorists take heart, swap Jane Fonda DVDs, stick it out and attack you. So, announce that there will be 5,000 troops arriving new, every month, because the president enjoys crushing insurgents and he shows the video of them getting wiped out at home. The inevitability of the failure of the insurgency must be hammered home to the insurgents so they are crushed and have no hope....
Continuing, you don't plead sweetly in the press for Iran and Syria to, pretty please, quit doing unhelpful things. Here is what you do instead. You tell both countries that the borders will allow crossings at only two or three points of contact. You station massive numbers of Iraqi troops there, then American troops behind them. Everything that goes through the border is searched by both. Then you tell Syria and Iran that anything and everything crossing into Iraq at an unapproved border location will be blown off the map. ....
Continuing, the American forces should, wherever possible, be put on search and destroy missions for insurgents, and the day to day wandering the streets should be given to Iraqis. They should continually and insistently using crushing force, putting up with nothing, finishing each job decisively. Bombs should fall on insurgent headquarters often. When the insurgents sue for peace, the U.S. should double operations and keep them up for a month before considering offers. The U.S. should not show favoritism when coming across insurgent groups fighting each other – the U.S. should kill them all. Eventually people will realize: Quitting the insurgency means participating in 5 percent annual GDP growth … and being alive. Why not try anything once? .....
We don't need some tweedy self-congratucrat trying to burnish his man-of-the-century vitae. We just need 28 percent more John Wayne.
Gee,I love that kind of talk! To read the rest of the column click on the title above for a link. So lets "saddle up" and do what is necessary to win in Iraq. We need a little more of the John Wayne in the Searcher and a little less of Jim Baker.
