It seems that this week has exposed some giant cracks in the ideology of the American defeatist camp.
1) All of the sudden President Admyneedablowjob is in trouble at home, while sitting at the poker table and betting the kitchen sink with a fist full of shite.
2) The Iraqi situation, while still fraught with violence and chaos, is showing increasingly resilience from the moderates backed, guided and supported by the most influential Shi'ite religious leader in Iraq.
What does this mean? Obviously, it doesn't mean that I'm jumping up and down like Nevile Chamberlain on crystal meth screaming VICTORY and PEACE IN OUR TIME!
The bottom line is that the situation in Iraq is at the final cross-roads. Victory is still attainable, military operations can have a positive short term effect (24-36 months) and diplomatic/political/military operational objectives must be attacked in a synergistic / mutually supporting environment.
This is the last chance to get it right. I’ll leave the political/diplomacy up to the duty experts, but from a military perspective I think we need to prosecute 5 operational objectives in three phases:
Phase I - Set Conditions for the Physical Security of Iraq
1) Isolate Iran by fomenting the internal strife. If Iran wants to fight a proxy war against the US in Iraq, let’s turn the table and fight a proxy war against them in their own country. Start with pushing the Iraqi Kurds toward unification with their brothers in NW Iraq. Who knows, maybe the Turkmen and Azerbaijanis will jump on the band wagon. Simultaneous diplomacy with Syria must be a priority.
End state – Iran’s government becomes internally focused, unable to effectively influence its neighbors.
2) Continue operations in An Bar.
End state – Insurgents and Foreign Fighters unable to effectively prosecute an organized insurgency inside An Bar province.
3) Surge forces (30-40k all in Baghdad). Start a true clear, hold, rebuild operation. Start from the green zone and push salients out into the city. Clear, hold and rebuild in each (like spokes of a wagon wheel). Then move laterally to close the spaces between the spokes (again, clear, hold, rebuild). Repeat. Essentially you are increasing the size of the Green Zone by an order of magnitude. Here's the key - this effort must include the Iraqi forces. The Iraqis should hold the interior of each salient, Coalition forces should hold the perimeter and both Iraqis and Americans (and the Brits if they are able) should rebuild together. Aside from increasing the physical security situation, this would accomplish a myriad of positives for the Iraqi people, the government and further the the proficiency of the Iraqi security forces.
End state – Baghdad secure, Mahdi army defeated, and Sadr city cordoned by US and Iraqi forces poised to launch follow-on operations (in Sadr city).
Phase II - Transition Main Effort to Iraqi Forces
4) Once Baghdad is secure and An Bar is under control, the main effort of US Forces becomes the cordon of the country of Iraq. We cut off all rat lines. We secure Iraq’s boarders with Iran and Syria, aggressively patrol An Bar and Ninawa and Diyala, and allow the Iraqi Security forces to clear, hold and rebuild the interior of Iraq (with limited US support).
End state – Insurgency/Foreign fighters unable to rely on ratlines for resupply and Iraqi army able to conduct operations against the remnants of the insurgency without being impeded by foreign influx of forces and supplies.
Phase III
5) Redeployment.
End state – A phased redeployment of the majority of US combat divisions CONUS.
how can you get the victory if the whole nation is on the side of the government?
Posted by: freelance writer jobs | September 21, 2011 at 11:56 AM