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mykalberta · 10-26-2006, 03:28 PM

That plan only ends badly for the Republican party as the "stay the course" can now be officially called BS.

So long as the Iraq army remains inept, the situation can only be termed - bad.

Apart from never being in the country to begin with and an all out withdrawl - here is what I would do:

Take the south, from about Hillah (inlude Kut and Najaf in a kind of imaginary line). That leaves you striking distance to Baghdad and a US Miliary presence in Iraq - you can then leave Saud and hope that the people overthrow Saud and then go back in. Iran will take control over the North but with any luck their hatred toward the US wont be greater than their tribal hate towards each other - Iran wont stand idely by while a vulnerable neighbour fights among itself. Looking at the pipeline situation in Iraq it would take at least a decade to build a pipeline from Iraq to either Turkey, Iran, or Syria - you could make it more difficult by destroying key pumping stations and sections of pipe etc.

Keeping the south allows control of the sea (and an escape point if required), you can charge Kuwait a kind of protection fee, maybe even ask if Kuwait would like to merge or something. The south also has the fewer Muslim religious sites (most are around or in Baghdad). Afghanistan will be a non issue whoever is the next president - with the multinational force there they are doing a hella better job there than in Iraq.

If you take the North, you are trapped with no allies on either side. Also taking the south allows for the game changer - a leftist country: France, Germany, etc gets attacked over a seemingly insignificant issue - headwear or something else. That would force the UN back in and possibly then decide to clean up Iraq - the best would be if China was attacked but it seems unlikely they would allow a muslim(s) to harm China.

If they cant get the oil up and running they will have to leave for financial reasons alone, they are bleeding money there and eventually they will have to balance the books or at least try.

No end game scenario is a good one except one that will likely never happen - you cant change hatred with money, you can only mask it.

MYK

10-26-2006, 03:28 PM	#5
mykalberta Franchise Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Calgary Exp:	That plan only ends badly for the Republican party as the "stay the course" can now be officially called BS. So long as the Iraq army remains inept, the situation can only be termed - bad. Apart from never being in the country to begin with and an all out withdrawl - here is what I would do: Take the south, from about Hillah (inlude Kut and Najaf in a kind of imaginary line). That leaves you striking distance to Baghdad and a US Miliary presence in Iraq - you can then leave Saud and hope that the people overthrow Saud and then go back in. Iran will take control over the North but with any luck their hatred toward the US wont be greater than their tribal hate towards each other - Iran wont stand idely by while a vulnerable neighbour fights among itself. Looking at the pipeline situation in Iraq it would take at least a decade to build a pipeline from Iraq to either Turkey, Iran, or Syria - you could make it more difficult by destroying key pumping stations and sections of pipe etc. Keeping the south allows control of the sea (and an escape point if required), you can charge Kuwait a kind of protection fee, maybe even ask if Kuwait would like to merge or something. The south also has the fewer Muslim religious sites (most are around or in Baghdad). Afghanistan will be a non issue whoever is the next president - with the multinational force there they are doing a hella better job there than in Iraq. If you take the North, you are trapped with no allies on either side. Also taking the south allows for the game changer - a leftist country: France, Germany, etc gets attacked over a seemingly insignificant issue - headwear or something else. That would force the UN back in and possibly then decide to clean up Iraq - the best would be if China was attacked but it seems unlikely they would allow a muslim(s) to harm China. If they cant get the oil up and running they will have to leave for financial reasons alone, they are bleeding money there and eventually they will have to balance the books or at least try. No end game scenario is a good one except one that will likely never happen - you cant change hatred with money, you can only mask it. MYK Last edited by mykalberta; 10-26-2006 at 03:30 PM.