OT politics
While this certainly would have made more sense than the endless and seemingly pointless patrolling which terrorized the locals, there was something else which needed to be done which never was--and, for the most part, stilll hasn't been done despite 4+ years and a half-trillion dollars flushed down the toilet: Rebuilding the half of the country that we destroyed in the initial "shock & awe" blitzkrieg. Water, electricity, hospitals, food supplies, schools--in addition to the unknown tens of thousands of people (most of them civilians) who were killed, we also pretty much destroyed most of the utilities and other infrastructure necessary for daily life.
I didn't say only; I said first. The infrastructure issues needed to make the place run (some of which, like the electricity, were really in a shambles due to Saddam-era neglect, and only look "bad" now that ordinary people are allowed to tap the grid on demand) is a longer-term project. First, I'd set out with a clear plan to put the country in the hands of locals.
It might not have succeeded in taking the wind from the sails of those seeking either chaos or theocracy (or yet another dictatorship), but it would have been more plausible than what we had.
We're actually doing quite a bit on infrastructure from what I read, though our infrastructure projects are just more targets for those who hope local government fails. They sure like blowing up schools, police stations, fuel stations, etc.
Take care,
--Tex.
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