After hearing that 10 American soldiers were killed in Fallujah today, 8 of them by a suicide car bomber, I change my vote from option 4 to option 5. Its time to blow those bastards off the face of the earth and send them straight to hell.
Option 1 - Of course we win in the end but too many American's will be killed in the process. Option 2 - A seige is a tactic that dates back to medieval times. It would work but would take months. Some of the people who would attempt to flee the cities as the seige became oppressive to the population would be suicide bombers. How would we deal with disarming and processing Iraqis who would come into contact with our soldiers. Option 3 - Again we win in the end but too many American soldiers lives would be lost using this method. Option 4 - Disarming the evacuating citizens puts the American forces at risk of close contact with suicide bombers. Maybe it would work if all evacuees were forced to abandon their vehicles and strip naked at least 200 yards from any contact with our guys. After passing through the examination naked they could be given their clothes back and sent on their way with assurance that they were unarmed. Option 5 is essentially the same as Option 4 except for the evacuation but it would set a good example for anybody who would dare to oppose us and has the least risk for loss of the lives of the Good Guys. I don't care if a thousand ragheads have to die to save even one American life but we all know that Option 5 is not going to be used. Other - Do the non terrorist citizens of Fallujah and Najaf have the balls to fight to save their own lives? Airdrop enough weapons to arm every single citizen of the cities along with flyers telling them that the cities are under seige and nobody will be allowed in or out and no food will be allowed in the cities until they rise up and kick the terrorists out. Make it clear that any assault upon American troops or aircraft will be met with instant destruction of whatever facility the attack comes from whether it be a mosque, a school, a hospital or whatever. If you have family being held hostage its up to you to get them out. Tell them that Allah only helps those who help themselves.
So what do we see on this mornings news? You got it -- The US is going with the option that nobody picked. The Marines are pulling out of Fallujah and are being replaced by Iraqi "troops" being commanded by -- get this -- a former General in Saddams Republican Guard! He was selected by -- surprize! -- the residents of Fallujah! You know, I could support this move if the Iraqi army was capable of doing the job. But just last week half of them refused to fight and 10% went over to the enemy! They will accomplish nothing in Fallujah, IMHO. The insurgents must be laughing their asses off. The city will remain theirs now, they are no longer being required to turn in their heavy weapons, and they will likely never hand over the murderers. How long will this bullchit go on? Marines "Reposition" Fallujah Forces
I'm with you Red, This is insane, in the meantime we have soldiers being killed everyday still. I don't like what I'm seeing over there right now, all this general has to do is wait til we get ready to leave and then decide he's going to be the new dictator of Iraq. If he can muster enough forces to take over the country then everything we've done is for nothing and the new ruling counsel will dissolve. Then what? I think that our strategy in Iraq now days sucks, we should'nt have stopped the war until it was really over and we are making a BIG mistake by not going in and killing the terrorists in Fallujah and other places of Iraq. They will kill us one day if we don't kill them first. I supported this war because I do believe Saddam had WMD's like the UN, Clinton Admin, Bush Admin and whoever else believed they did. I also supported it because of the terrorists and terrorists camps there but now we aren't going in and take the terrorists out?
Howdee buddies, yes jet Im back and you justhave to know i voted to NUKe the basterds :shock: LOL welcome home race fans
I was able to talk with a buddy of mine who is in Iraq right now. He is on his second tour and that this time is much harder than the first. The boys don't feel like they are being allowed to do what they need to do. They are not haopy and feel like there hands are tied. They never know who is approaching them or their motives. He says things have gone way down hill since the summer and that the higher ups need to let them fight and stop this babysitting bull crap. On the bright side, the boys want to do their job. He was very adament about that. They want to leave a lasting democracy, but just feel like things have to change in the way they do it.
I really doubt they can ever achieve a lasting democracy in a country where godless fanatics are the order of the day. Take the gloves off of our guys and let them do whatever it takes to win and to hell with world opinion. I personally don't care if 10,000 Iraqis get sent to meet their 72 virgins if it keeps even one American from losing his life.
Man, this is eerily similar to the sentiments I heard from Vietnam vets 35 years ago. If we learned any lessons from Vietnam it was to either go in with everything you've got and win it quickly with overwheming force (Kuwait, Panama, Grenada) or you pound them hard with airpower and never get your ground troops entangled (Libya, Kosovo, Afghanistan). The recipe for disaster to send in an inadequate force, limited in what they are allowed to do, and order them to occupy a country where the population hates us and doesn't want us there (Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq). I seriously question the political and military decisionmakers that are conducting this war which is costing us 5 billion dollars a month and 136 American lives in April alone. The troops deserve better leadership.
