Reply #50: I agree that nobody needs that kind of crap

[RafterMan]

Thus, the US must change its goals. Some say, "but the US will never agree to give up control", but this would moot your plan as well, since turnover to a multinational force implies giving up control.

And nobody needs the crap of having their troops be sitting ducks in Iraq. In Asia, India and Pakistan probably couldn't go in for political reasons, Malaysia and Indonesia are exporters who would benefit from higher oil prices. It would be politically difficult for Japan to expand its role whatever the situation. In Africa, Nigeria is a producer and to the north, Mubarak has articulated reasons similar to mine as reasons the Arabs shouldn't go under any circumstances. Obviously, Iraq's immediate neighbors must be ruled out as well.

So you're left with Europe, China, Russia, possibly Korea, possibly South Africa and maybe some South American countries as those with the incentive and ability to project power into Iraq. Of these, only China and Russia have the political ability to take the kind of blows the US is taking now without losing power at home, and both of these are jihad-magnets just like the US. And all this without even getting to the issue of coordination between units from countries that have never operated together before, as well as having to learn the ways of the locals.

The time for this strategy was in the months following the takeover, ahead of the curve, ahead of the backlash. Now the backlash has come and it is a regressive, not a progressive strategy. We can't reset the clock. We shouldn't try.

What we should do is find out what Iraq's neighbors want to commit themselves to the political process and secure their side of the borders. We should push for political integration of Sunni leaders -- this is frequently commented on, but I'm not sure how seriously it is persued. It worked with al Sadr and many said it wouldn't. Finally, we should negotiate with the post-election government and follow a build-down plan that quickly (*with dates*) replaces our forces with Iraqis as they become available. If the election doesn't go through, we should publish such a plan unilaterally.

The multinational force plan was a good one at one time. Now it adds needless and complicated steps that are unlikely to succeed to a process that has been stalled long enough. What are the chances that the Bush administration will abandon its conquest and finally start living up to its rhetoric? I don't know, but I think larger than the chance they'll abandon their conquest and pray that a global army appears in their place.