Iraq: Al-Sadr makes a move.

They really should have gone after this guy about 2 years back when he
started the problems. Southern Iraq had been pretty quiet, and now this

right near the Iranian border. The General they have on CNN is right.
The Iraq gov't has made exuses for this guy and not gone after him. I
fthey're not willing to do something about an entire city on fire, it
will be a bad move on their part. This is going to be a big test for
the new gov't there.

"David E. Powell" wrote in message
ups.com...
They really should have gone after this guy about 2 years back when he
started the problems. Southern Iraq had been pretty quiet, and now this


Nearly all parties involved have been trying not to wage war sufficiently
for several years now. This is just another example. From the start this
war should have been waged as if every last creature will be killed, and let
the trouble makers race each other to prove they are no longer in the
resistance business. Instead the coalition forces have been racing each
other to see which partner can avoid seeing what is plain to see. Until we
see a General Sherman approach of taking the war into the centers of
support, not just shooting the "foot soldiers" which allow the power brokers
in Riyadh, Tehran, and Islambad to indulge in their fanatsy, this war will
continue.

Our enemy isn't necessarily the rank and file of Iraq, but we should use
massive war to force them to drive out the troublemakers from among their
midst. We will never be able to read the minds of Iraqis and sort the good
Muslims from the bad Muslims. Therefore we need to demonstrate to all of
them that we are perfectly able to destroy all of their world in a moment,
and we will lose no sleep in doing it, unless they demonstrate a clear
surrender to our will. Slow war, is not an easy war. This is especially
important when fighting people from a shame/honor culture. Those are the
people that it is most important to defeat comprehensively. Our mercy
should be reserved for the day after they recognize they have been defeated.

--

Scott

Drain the swamp. Deport Islam. Until Muslims observe and protect
human/religious rights of others they should not be allowed to remain in the
West. Islam, as practiced, is incompatible with Western freedom.

tscottme wrote:
"David E. Powell" wrote in message
ups.com...
They really should have gone after this guy about 2 years back when he
started the problems. Southern Iraq had been pretty quiet, and now this


Nearly all parties involved have been trying not to wage war sufficiently
for several years now. This is just another example. From the start this
war should have been waged as if every last creature will be killed, and let
the trouble makers race each other to prove they are no longer in the
resistance business. Instead the coalition forces have been racing each
other to see which partner can avoid seeing what is plain to see. Until we
see a General Sherman approach of taking the war into the centers of
support, not just shooting the "foot soldiers" which allow the power brokers
in Riyadh, Tehran, and Islambad to indulge in their fanatsy, this war will
continue.

It's an insurgency. You don't win by killing the enemy. You win by
cutting off their reinforcements.

--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall

If FDR fought fascism the way Bush fights terrorism, we'd all be
speaking German now.

"Raptor" wrote in message
...
tscottme wrote:
"David E. Powell" wrote in message
ups.com...
They really should have gone after this guy about 2 years back when he
started the problems. Southern Iraq had been pretty quiet, and now this


Nearly all parties involved have been trying not to wage war sufficiently
for several years now. This is just another example. From the start
this war should have been waged as if every last creature will be killed,
and let the trouble makers race each other to prove they are no longer in
the resistance business. Instead the coalition forces have been racing
each other to see which partner can avoid seeing what is plain to see.
Until we see a General Sherman approach of taking the war into the
centers of support, not just shooting the "foot soldiers" which allow the
power brokers in Riyadh, Tehran, and Islambad to indulge in their
fanatsy, this war will continue.

It's an insurgency. You don't win by killing the enemy. You win by cutting
off their reinforcements.

--

That's why I envoked the General Sherman reference. The American Civil War
wasn't won because the Union killed all the Southern soldiers. Sherman
waged war on the plantation owners and war-making abilility of the South.
The Salafists and the Twelvers will fight until the last future cab driver
is dead in the street. They won't fight 1 month after their butt is set
ablaze.


--

Scott

Drain the swamp. Deport Islam. Until Muslims observe and protect
human/religious rights of others they should not be allowed to remain in the
West. Islam, as practiced, is incompatible with Western freedom.

tscottme wrote:
"Raptor" wrote in message
It's an insurgency. You don't win by killing the enemy. You win by cutting
off their reinforcements.

--

That's why I envoked the General Sherman reference. The American Civil War
wasn't won because the Union killed all the Southern soldiers. Sherman
waged war on the plantation owners and war-making abilility of the South.
The Salafists and the Twelvers will fight until the last future cab driver
is dead in the street. They won't fight 1 month after their butt is set
ablaze.

The Civil War wasn't an insurgency.

The Iraqi insurgency isn't "winning" by blowing up our tanks or shooting
down our aircraft. Their weapons are small arms, IEDs and RPGs. No
amount of destroying their "warmaking ability" will stop such attacks.
They're winning by picking off our soldiers in ones and twos, and by
fighting each other with small arms. By committing violence of any
significant kind, they show that we have not achieved our objective and
thereby win.

You win an insurgency by winning the hearts & minds of the people who
might otherwise become insurgents. Most of the violence in Iraq now
occurs because no one is keeping the streets safe. Keep the streets
safe, and the violence ends quickly, except for those determined to die.
Most Iraqis are not determined to die. We can deal with the dead-enders
if we choose to.

The alternative is nuking the whole place.

--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall

If FDR fought fascism the way Bush fights terrorism, we'd all be
speaking German now.

David E. Powell wrote:
They really should have gone after this guy about 2 years back when he
started the problems. Southern Iraq had been pretty quiet, and now this

right near the Iranian border. The General they have on CNN is right.
The Iraq gov't has made exuses for this guy and not gone after him. I
fthey're not willing to do something about an entire city on fire, it
will be a bad move on their part. This is going to be a big test for
the new gov't there.


The generals are politically inept as always. It would not have been
possible to go after him then, just like it's not possible now. He
always had a huge constituency among the Shiite masses, including in
2003 when he was powerful enough to openly challenge the then existing
religious hierarchy.

Right now, Al-Sadr is the best bet - probably the only one too - that
Iraqi Shiites have to form a viable state. Rather than the usual
wishful thinking maybe the same generals should start examining the
Iraqi internal situation in terms of balance of power; there are two
extremes operating over there, maybe they could cancel each other out.
A neutered Iraq would still be a strategic success.

"David E. Powell" wrote in
ups.com:

They really should have gone after this guy about 2 years back when he
started the problems. Southern Iraq had been pretty quiet, and now this
right near the Iranian border. The General they have on CNN is right.
The Iraq gov't has made exuses for this guy and not gone after him. I
fthey're not willing to do something about an entire city on fire, it
will be a bad move on their part. This is going to be a big test for
the new gov't there.

There has been some discussion recently about whether al-Sadr
actually controls the Mehdi Army any more. There are apparently
factions within that organisation that are no longer taking his
orders. This complicates things slightly.
Having said that we may be in for round three with these clowns.
If thats the case then not capping al-Sadr would be a crime
against humanity.