Mr President, herewith my ten tips to deal with Iraq

[spindrifter]

The Times January 09, 2007

Amir Taheri

This week President Bush is expected to present a new strategy for Iraq based on a Pentagon paper. The paper considers three options: go big, which means more American boots on the ground; go long, which means keep the same number but stay as long as possible; and go home, which is self-explanatory.

It was obvious from a 90-minute discussion with President Bush at the White House recently that he would not cut and run, which excludes the last option. As for the “go long” option, he has little control over it. In two years someone else will be in the White House.

In immediate terms, therefore, Mr Bush is left with “go big”, the option his opponents have already attacked. Those familiar with Iraq know that the real war for its future is waged in the United States and, to a lesser extent, Britain. The terrorists have no hope of riding in triumph into Baghdad, but they continue to fight to persuade US and British opinion that the war is lost and that new Iraq does not deserve further support. Moreover, some in the new Iraqi elite have become fence-sitters. Worried that the US may run away, they have sought insurance from Tehran or, in the case of Sunni Arabs, the jihadis.

<snip>

The “go big” option is useful if the US commits specialised forces with a clear mission, the success of which could be assessed within weeks. The “go long” option could be exercised by raising the percentage of US training personnel with Iraqi units from 5, as it is now, to 20. There is also room for the “go home” option, needed to give Democrats something to chew upon. Most GIs in Iraq are now in self-defence mode or engaged in routine tasks that could be assumed by Iraqis. The US and Britain could repatriate many of their troops within the next two years.

<more>

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,6-2537268,00.html

[aquart]

1. Nice build on a false premise.

"The terrorists have no hope of riding in triumph into Baghdad, but they continue to fight to persuade US and British opinion that the war is lost and that new Iraq does not deserve further support."

Oh, I ain't gonna let that crap statement slide. "The terrorists"?????? Uh, that would be WHOM? In a civil war, that can be so many different sides each using that word on the others. Mr. Taheri wants us to believe that Iraq is like Britain and America, a stable, law-abiding country with a strong central government harassed by a very small minority of "terrorists" who occasionally strike but never win. THESE "terrorists," however, are the citizens of Iraq. They don't have to ride into Baghdad, they live there.

In Iraq, WE are the terrorists, bringing death and destruction to every house. "Going big" means we go into MORE houses, hurt MORE Iraqi citizens. We aren't fighting an army. We aren't fighting "terrorists." We are using our army against the people of Iraq.

OUT NOW.