The Iraq Study Group Report

I have not posted for almost a week, the reason being that after a minor problem with my ISP making line upgrades, the Iraq Study Group Report was released. I have spent the past few days reading it in its entirety, making my own analysis. Here it is.

This report does contain a number of very good suggestions, mostly about changes that need to be made to the Iraqi military and police forces, and changes in security procedures. The rest is garbage. To give a very quick and dirty summary, it suggests that we forgo increased military action against the enemies of Iraq in favor of increased diplomacy with all the people who are actively trying to pull Iraq down into chaos. And the best part? America should foot the bill!

The first suggestion of the report is The New Diplomatic Offensive. It consists of trying to get all the active psychopaths and the restrained psychopaths to agree on what's best for Iraq, to help it come about, and to help pay for it. It includes talking to Syria, Iran, and Palestine, enlisting their help in improving the regional situation. The report suggests that these countries could use their influence over the terrorists and violent sectarian groups in and around Iraq to ease tensions and advocate cooperation..... I'm sorry, did I miss something here? Why would they do that? If they had any intention of doing that, they would have done it already. If they wanted the terror and sectarian violence to end, they wouldn't be providing them with money, supplies, weapons, ammunition, training, propaganda dispersal, safe haven, or political legitimacy. It's like offering the Don of the Mafia a key role in an organized crime task force! All it would do would be to put those countries in an even better position to undermine our efforts in Iraq.

One of the telling features of this New Diplomatic Offensive is the fact that Israel has only one job to do: give up even more territory to Palestinians, and promise to play nice. Pardon my skepticism, but what the hell does giving back the Golan Heights have to do with Iraq? And what makes the Iraq Study Group think that it will convince the Palestinians to stop attacking Israel? Because it's worked so well in the past? I don't even think they believe it, every time they referred to the Palestinians, they had the following words in parentheses: (those who accept Israel’s right to exist). As if there are any. Even if the sorry excuse for a Palestinian government did agree to some kind of peace treaty, the Palestinian terrorists certainly wouldn't. And the Palestinian government has demonstrated time after time that they are either unwilling or unable to stop them.

In the military section of the report, the study group recommends that we use our continued support or removal thereof as an incentive for the Iraqi government to get off its butt and start making some progress of its own. Now, that would be a splendid idea, and it would probably work, except for one problem. At least half the reason the Iraqi government isn't making any progress is due to the aforementioned interference from other forces, including sectarian groups within the country, and other foreign forces assisting those groups. If we tell them that we're going to start cutting military and economic support if they don't make any progress, those other forces are going to triple their efforts to make absolutely sure that no progress is made. And if we make good on our threat, victory is theirs. And they know it.

Adding to the absurdity of this report is the indirect suggestion that America should pay for all the strategies recommended. The New Diplomatic Offensive includes trying to form an International Iraq Support Group, for the purpose of gathering other nations to assist with the political and financial burdens of helping Iraq. Once again, if other countries were going to help, they would have done it by now. The small handful of nations that are already helping us are either helping as much as they can, or as much as they are willing. A support group isn't going to change that. And the recommendations of just how much money we should be willing to spend doesn't take into account any hypothetical sum that's expected to suddenly materialize from the new and unprecedented cooperation of countries that either don't care or want us to fail. In other words, we're supposed to pick up the tab. And in addition to that, it's recommended that when we leave, we leave behind a portion of our military equipment for the Iraqi army. Not only is that stuff expensive, but it would only end up in the hands of our enemies anyway. The only way Iraq should get any of our hardware is if they BUY it from us AFTER they are secure.

All in all, this report suggests that more military action isn't the right solution, and we should try to negotiate with the monsters we're supposed to be destroying. It's no wonder that the only people who are happy about this report are the terrorists and the liberals. All the Islamic terror groups are calling this a great victory for Allah, holding it up as evidence that their tactics are working. If even a fraction of these recommendations are put into effect, not counting some of the Iraqi military reorganizations, we will lose the war. Period. And our enemies, foreign and domestic, know it.

There is only one way we can truly help Iraq out of the mess it's in. Full-blown martial law and lock-down of the borders. Anything that comes into or goes out of the country must be cleared in advance with the Iraqi government and the U.S. military. Spy satellites and perimeter sensors must monitor the borders, and if anything comes through without authorization, it should be carpet bombed with extreme prejudice. Insurgents and terrorists who are captured on the battlefield should be harshly interrogated and then executed publicly. We also need to let other nations in the region know that interference will not be tolerated. Once the insurgency has been crushed, once the country is secure, THEN real reconstruction can begin. The more we try to be gentle with this situation, the worse it gets. A little heavy-handedness is in order. Whatever happened to "shock and awe"? We aren't doing the people of Iraq any favors by trying to deflate the situation, we need to pop it. Trying to rebuild the government, infrastructure and economy of Iraq while there's an active insurgency at work is like trying to remodel your kitchen while the living room is on fire.