A real strategy for Iraq.
(1) Send more troops (maybe 50,000 more) purely for peacekeeping and to protect the troops already there.
(2) Train 25,000 of those soldiers (special forces, actually) *ONLY* on the local Arabic language, Iraqi customs and Iraqi culture. Their task is to establish rapport with the locals and soften the effect of our presence.
(3) Stop building schools, etc… That’s not the job of the military.
(4) Open up dialog with every nation in the Middle East. Find out what each entity wants and use that as leverage.
(5) Have the Bush Administration issue a formal or informal apology to the nations involved and interfered with. Stop protecting any U.S. businesses and corporations that are there - These corporations can buy their own private protection or leave.
(6) Aim to leave in 3 years. The special forces are to soften the effect of leaving and soften the effect of our presence. If this is successful, we may not need to leave.
(7) Leave religion out of the equation and stop talking about democracy. It’s not our place to determine what is best for them, or to shove it down their throats even if we were right. Nevertheless, the special forces can use psychological tactics to encourage the spread of democracy (but more importantly to reduce friction between factions and enable an atmosphere of peace).
(8) Find a compromise between the different factions involved. This should be enabled by the special forces aforementioned and encouraged, not forced onto.
It took me a few minutes to write this up. Surely our leaders can do better.