>> The Iraqi army will not conduct offensive operations anywhere in the Middle East for a very long time.<<
No more tanks, no more airplanes. No airports. No navy. No palaces. No royal yachts. No money! Well, who knows if we found all of it, but the FBI is very good at following the money. No more SCUDs, probably.
Taking away their toys instead of taking their turf seems like a good way to fight a war.
But we still have to put boots on the ground, right?
And can anyone really conquer a city of 5 million by going house to house?
Methinks we are facing a dilemma. I was thinking that we would declare a transition government of Iraqis, but now I think not, based on the strong dissent within the ranks. A transition government of Americans won't have the same rallying factor. The ones who are happy to be free won't care all that much if the transition government is Iraqi or American, but the undecideds won't rally unless we can unveil something that looks like Iraqi democracy.
America was lucky because we could all rally around George Washington, who didn't want power, and was a known quantity, especially during his service during the American Revolution, but was an extremely solid member of the American community before that.
Chalabi ain't no George Washington. Maybe one of the others is, but I haven't heard of him yet.
As to Syria, Iran, and Turkey, they are licking their lips but they aren't going to risk it. Russia, neither. |
