[tonycavanagh]

re : That's true. We could have conquered the entire country in three weeks. That was not our objective, however. Sometimes I wish it had been.

The point is that conquering, invading, liberating the problem is the same at the end, pacification and stabilization.

How tough should we get, razing villages, towns, taking hostages, shooting without trial.

These methods have never worked in the past look at the partisan war in the the East.

The Soviet Union were never able to pacify Afghanistan with there huge arsenal and no one to hold them back, in fact the harder they tried the more radical the Afghanistan's became

The only way to win an insurgency is to show the population that there best future lies with you, what is needed are programs such as job creation. As the bible said the devil finds work for idle hands

any other methods just prolongs the conflict.

As for the Vietnam war American would say it lasted 10 years ask the Vietnamese it lasted thousands, first they fought against the Chinese who had colonised them for over a thousand years, then the French for a hundred then the Japanese, then the French then the Americans then Chinese and Cambodians.

That region was always in a state of war.

In fact the OSS forerunner of the CIA at the time warned the American State Department about getting involved in that tar baby.

Tony

[weegee]

...is needed are programs such as job creation

What is needed is to educate the population that they are not Slaves of Allah. Inform them that their lot in life is not cast, they have free will and can better their position in society. Even Timothy Leary was saddened by some other cultures that perceived there as being no hope for a better life in this world; some take it as being a better world "in the afterlife" (see 72 virgins) while others see a cycle of life where they will be reincarnated and live a better life on Earth "next time".

A reformation MUST occur in Islam to eradicate the violent elements, to change the law that permits slavery (of prisoners seized in war), etc.

Until they have their reformation, Islam will be a prison.

Muslim nations must also be open to other faiths being practiced in their lands. A man who voluntarily comes to Islam is worth more to muslims than a man who remains a muslim under threat of death.

Forced conversion to Islam fatal for Christian boy (Islamics torture Xian boy for 5 days)

[ought-six]

There is a huge difference between conquering a country and making nice with an insurgency so that they will like us in the end. My idea of winning a war is what we did in Japan. Crush them, totally, and then install an American military dictatorship ala Douglas MacArthur for a few years until such time as the indigenous population can come up with an emasculated native government that wants above all else not to piss us off. Trying to democratize a people who are totally incapable of self-rule is a disaster in the making.