U.S. can still salvage the Iraqi state |
Increase U.S. troop levels
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Threatens to break our nation's all-volunteer Army
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U.S. Commanders in Iraq are opposed
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Commanders now open to increase
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Commanders are agreeing because it's their duty
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Lack of equipment
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Can't sustain level of spending, let alone increase
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Can be increased if taxes are raised
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Accelerate training of and transfer to Iraqi military and police
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Quality of Iraqi troops is questionable
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Military no longer relying on Iraqi troops
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Lack of strong government undercuts Iraqi military
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Prime Minister's office accused of sectarian agenda
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Withdraw troops from Al Anbar province to Baghdad
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Partition the country
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Potential for ethnic cleansing
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Turkey vehemently opposed
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Side with the Shiites to crush the Sunni insurgency
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Side with the Sunnis against the Iranian-backed Shiites
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No predent for successfully arming enemy in an insurgency
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Adverse implications for political consolidation
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Effectively arming enemies of the Iraqi government
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Diffusing weapons and power has never created stability
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Could work if combined with support for Baathists
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Engage diplomatically with Iran and Syria
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Letting the fox into the hen house
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They're already there, acting in their own interests
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In order to fully understand the situation in Iraq you have to look at history. The two points that I would like to comment on, are the last time Iraq was successfully conquered, and the history of popular supported insurgencies.
To start off we need to look far back into the lens of history to find the last time Iraq was successfully occupied. Some may debate it but I believe that Genghis Khan was the last leader to successfully rule over Iraq. Genghis' strategy for occupation was vastly different then the United States’. Genghis focused on winning over the hearts and minds of the common citizens and saved the invasion of Baghdad till he had a positive backing from the populous of Iraq. This strategy is quite different then the Shock and Awe tactics used by the U.S and one could argue that they were highly successful in comparison to our methods.
Another issue that can be analyzed with history is the patterns of insurgencies. Never in the history of the world has an occupying power "won" against a popularly supported insurgency. With this fact in mind it leaves me little to no hope that the situation in Iraq can be salvaged.
Comment by: Policygeek1 At: 2007-07-19 20:52:11