This is a slight variation on a theme I started a while back in which I suggested we "talk" to Iran about "helping" us in Iraq as a means of getting out of there.
But as good as I thought my idea was, this one is way better because it could actually WORK:
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." So goes an old Arab proverb. What could be more satisfying than knowing that one of our enemies is killing another of our enemies without our incurring any risk at all. And that this may be happening thousands of times a day.The first step is to publicly acknowledge the de facto civil war and that the United States cannot fulfill any of its obligations until the different factions agree to peace so that rebuilding Iraq can continue. After such an acknowledgement we have to declare publicly that we stand as a neutral power and will undertake only humanitarian activities--medical supplies, food, and transport of refugees to distant camps that provide safety for either sect.
Under cover of these humanitarian activities performed by a force of twenty or twenty-five thousand non-combatant troops, a well-organized military intelligence program can be created that would include recruitment of spies from all factions, acquisition of human intelligence about our enemies and their operations, and the identification of targets of opportunity.INSTEAD OF CUTTING AND RUNNING, OR SURGING, HOW ABOUT REDEPLOYMENT
"...but I tell you, my lord, out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safely...."
In addition to exploiting the opportunities of the civil war there is one more important strategic aim that must be accomplished. Contrary to cutting and running we must carry out a plan of redeployment. A large component of our present force should be redeployed to a new and permanent base to be built in Northern Iraq-non-Arabic Kurdistan. There we will be welcomed by the cooperative, pro-American Kurds, and out of the way of harassment by IEDs, RPGs, and light artillery from hostile Arabs. Kurdistan is already a mostly autonomous country and desires to become completely independent of central and southern Iraq.
We need a long term base there much like the ones we have had in Korea and Germany for more than fifty years. What are the advantages of such an arrangement? For the Kurds it will bring dollars and employment. It will also bring political stability and reassurance—about their hostile neighbors, Iran, Syria, and Turkey.
In fact, an American base will tend to stabilize the Middle East as well as put pressure on America's Middle-Eastern enemies, Syria, Iran, and Saudi extremists.The strategic purpose of such a base should be as a center for the acquisition of and recruitment of human and signal intelligence and agents. And for the location of a large Special Operations cadre to do covert operations in and around the Middle East against our enemies and those who support our enemies
Such a permanent base in the region will put constant pressure on antagonistic governments. After all, we have demonstrated that an Arab country--a country in which political factions love death more than victory--is highly vulnerable to America’s newest weapon--political ineptitude. We have demonstrated unequivocally that we can reduce a country to impotence and chaos without dropping a single nuclear bomb.
Oh, and when you're done, send it along to your Congressman. It's pretty obvious they're at a TOTAL loss for new ideas, maybe this one will catch on.
Posted by insomnomaniac at March 18, 2007 10:26 PM | TrackBack