Analyzing Operation: Restore Hope

[Sgt.Banes]

If it's just about the oil, partition wouldn't be so bad. The kurds have oil and are pro US. The Shiite south might be dicey, but couldn't the US just secure the oilfields? The Sunnis will be shut out, and will need dole outs, but that's cheaper than war.

No surge can remove some of the fundamental sticking points of iraq, the militants can just choose to go underground and wait out the US if they decide to. But the resources, the money funding the conflict comes from the outside. Mind you, al Sadr seems to be going for a Hezbollah style army/police/shadow government organization. It's quite a successfull model. That's why he wants the US out - so he can take over.

But how many troops will it need to seal the borders and take out the militias?

You honestly would need a millions for First Deployment, Then Secondary, If some soldiers come under fire, then you need replacement soldiers, not to mention you would need many to spread out over long distances, with many Fire bases.

 

[KGB]

So do you think the objectives of the surge are doomed from the outset? That it is a temporizing measure so that the current US administration can avoid looking bad until the end of it's term?

I'm not American, mind you, but that's my impression.

 

[Sgt.Banes]

So do you think the objectives of the surge are doomed from the outset? That it is a temporizing measure so that the current US administration can avoid looking bad until the end of it's term?

I'm not American, mind you, but that's my impression.

Yes, but only in that aspect.

Even with the "surge", are military is still bound by the same rules of engagement that have kept us slugish since 2003.