re: "What to do in Iraq"

David Warren posting at DavidWarrenOnline is clear in his strategy.

Money quote(s):

"I’ve hesitated to say “what should be done”, from two motives. First, there is a war going on. I took President Bush for the legitimate captain of the allied war effort, and wished to avoid second-guessing him. But the mid-term election in the U.S. confirmed publicly what was already happening behind the scenes. Mr Bush was successfully demonized by his domestic and foreign foes, and his authority as President is now undermined. The direction of the war effort has thus been opened for general discussion."

"The number of U.S. and allied troops on the ground in Iraq, and the arms they carry, are sufficient unto the day. U.S. and allied deployments in the region are a little thin for the larger purpose of dealing with e.g. Syria and Iran. But they are formidable."

"(T)he “strategy” in Fallujah should have been to make it into a parking lot, and build a Wal-Mart at one end. There would have been great loss of life, but the message to our enemies and their supporters everywhere would have been, “We will not be toyed with.” Civilians whose sympathies are with the enemy cannot be won over, and have not been, by the “candy to children” approach. They must be taught that sheltering the enemy -- even involuntarily -- means sharing the enemy’s fate."

&

"The strategy against the insinuation of foreign jihadis and supplies, into Iraq across international frontiers, should have been -- should now be -- extremely hot pursuit."