I never once advocated the compete obliteration of Iraq. Is there a Japan today? Is there a Germany today? Or are those civilizations we just read about in the history books that no longer exist?
There is a big difference between the complete obliteration of a country and fighting an unlimited war. In an unlimited war, you do not sacrifice your objectives and therefore your goals out of fear of inflicting collateral damage or what world opinion says. This is why it is critical to make sure the cause is worth the sacrifice in the first place. Before one guy in camouflage gets sent in for a mission, we better be darned sure we are willing to do what it takes to win and that includes an all out war if need be. If the cause is not worth it, then why is even one life being sacrificed for it?
No country has ever benefited from prolonged war. Any benefits you gain from war becomes not worth it. In other words, the war becomes worse than the problem itself. It doesn’t have to be that way though. If war is fought correctly and aggressively, it is over quickly. That does not mean you needlessly kill innocents just for the sake of doing so. It means you do not sacrifice the very objectives and goals you laid out in the first place out of fear of collateral damage.
Even though I never suggested the destruction of an entire country, you do realize what I mean by “destabilizing world markets” don’t you? Someone with enough power over world resources can cause a world depression. Cut off oil supplies and shipping routes. We are talking about more deaths from a world depression than any war has ever caused. Sadam, or anyone like him, allowed to take over the middle east could have caused more deaths in the world than we can ever imagine by being able to hold much of the world hostage economically.