Since it is apparent the administration is out of ideas, I offer my own plan to stabilize Iraq.
1. Tell the Kurds northern Iraq is theirs, provided they cool it in supporting insurgencies in Turkey. Encourage them to use their new-found oil wealth to destabilize Iran however.
2. Redeploy our troops or bring in new ones if needed to secure the southern Iraq oil fields. Until such time as a stable and friendly Iraq emerges, we will manage those reserves in trust for the Iraqi people. Of course, as any trustee would do, we will take a cut for our own expenses.
3. Put most of our remaining troops on the Syrian and Iranian borders. That will both cut down on infiltration and focus those countries attention on the downside of continuing to cause trouble.
4. Secure main roadways around the Baghdad airport and capital area by prohibiting general traffic on them and establishing wide buffer zones to inhibit planting of IED's.
5. Concentrate our use of force on the sectarian militias, such as the sadr brigades. Use massive airpower to destroy them, their mosques and the surrounding neighborhoods.
6. Tell the new Iraqi government that they will hold office only to the extent they avoid corruption and control violence.
7. Arrest summarily any clerics who foment violence or insurrection.
8. Expel most of the press corp and make it clear to those who are allowed to remain that their presence in the country is a privilege, not a right, and they will be expelled if their dispatches are deemed unhelpful.
9. Tell the American people that Iraq is a focal point on the global war against islamofascism, and that these measures are necessary to achieve victory.
1. Tell the Kurds northern Iraq is theirs, provided they cool it in supporting insurgencies in Turkey. Encourage them to use their new-found oil wealth to destabilize Iran however.
2. Redeploy our troops or bring in new ones if needed to secure the southern Iraq oil fields. Until such time as a stable and friendly Iraq emerges, we will manage those reserves in trust for the Iraqi people. Of course, as any trustee would do, we will take a cut for our own expenses.
3. Put most of our remaining troops on the Syrian and Iranian borders. That will both cut down on infiltration and focus those countries attention on the downside of continuing to cause trouble.
4. Secure main roadways around the Baghdad airport and capital area by prohibiting general traffic on them and establishing wide buffer zones to inhibit planting of IED's.
5. Concentrate our use of force on the sectarian militias, such as the sadr brigades. Use massive airpower to destroy them, their mosques and the surrounding neighborhoods.
6. Tell the new Iraqi government that they will hold office only to the extent they avoid corruption and control violence.
7. Arrest summarily any clerics who foment violence or insurrection.
8. Expel most of the press corp and make it clear to those who are allowed to remain that their presence in the country is a privilege, not a right, and they will be expelled if their dispatches are deemed unhelpful.
9. Tell the American people that Iraq is a focal point on the global war against islamofascism, and that these measures are necessary to achieve victory.
