>>>[partitioning] is the simplistic answer spewed forth by various idiot "Realists" Do Nothing Neo-Isolationists whose dogma of "Never do anything in the Middle East and maybe the problem will go away?" bought us 09-11-01.
While the US is pinned down in the Iraqi cities killing imported Muslim fighters in Iraq by the one's and two's, Iran grows stronger and more threatening.
There's no conflict with partitioning Iraq and the US keeping permanent remote bases in each of the newly-formed countries. Why send our troops in to the cities to walk a beat and get sniped when they are designed to be soldiers killing massed enemies?
If you don't like partitioning then find a dictator to your liking to keep the pressure on a multi-ethnic country. This is a tried and true approach. But please don't turn our soldiers into policemen.
Your strategy of being a policeman keeping order in an urban mixed ethnic soup is using up valuable political capital that a President needs to mount future military operations.
Your strategy of being a policeman keeping order in an urban mixed ethnic soup is using up valuable political capital that a President needs to mount future military operations.
***Well said. If only we had followed a better strategy the first two times in Iraq, I suspect we wouldn't even be having this conversation about Iran right now.