Sharia people are at war with The West because Sharia people believe Islam can not survive against: a free market economy with free speech to criticize Islam.

International law, has defined a set of war rule parameters that guarantee no war can be won by good guys and that guarantee nice long lasting wars with lots of weapons sales.

Generals: Patton. Eisenhower, Marshall , Sherman et al would all be war criminals under international law and Europe would be under Hitler; the American civil war would not be over if fought under the current rules; which, intentionally or unintentionally, are designed for a hundred year terror war.

Cut off terrorist infested countries/areas: no phones, no lights, no motorcars not a single luxury. No food, no water, no ships/airplanes in and out, no trucks cross their borders; nothing till they give up the terrorism. Better the terrorist should die right there than have a war where the world is terrorized for 100 years.

The leadership that sponsors these terrorist suicide murders are the Heads of state in Tehran, Riyadh, and Damascus and Mr Moqtada al-Sadr

and his Mahdly army of losers.

Intelligence analyst: Getzel

Isaidit, You don't need soldiers, it's a bombing operation. Total War. The members of the United States Air Force are Airmen, and you need to go read up on Linebacker II. There is no economic mass to Baghdad's Shia slum, therefore no loss. They can die for their cause or submit. I would break them harshly. Likewise any location in the Hindu-Kush. I do not need a ground offensive to follow a scorched earth, bounce the rubble operation. We also need to kill the opium crop in Afghanistan, which can also be done with aerial assets. Either fight a total war or fight no war at all.

You begin to flow ground forces out as fast as you can and strike mercilessly those who remain within the zones of contact/conflict. We have the carriers, Heavy Bombers, and other assets to do this.

Your "where would we get the soldiers from" demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of the concept of Air Power. If you'll kindly recall the Kosovo Operation back when we had allies and an effective war plan, we bombed the Serbs into surrender. The only way to finish this war is to get the army off of land we do not intend to keep, and remove the bad actors. Otherwise Iraq becomes an Iranian puppet, to be used as a staging ground to defeat other nations in the region. Ultimatums and the Iron Hand. Playing we'll stand down as <some nefarious entity> stands up is politicians psychobabble. I flew in Gulf I. I know Air Power. The monkey in the White House does not, he skipped out on those lessons while drinking his way through guard duty. In a brutal and endless slog that Rumsfield and co. have gotten us into, you need to raise the stakes of the game to existential terms for bad actors. The Shia have for 5 years been allowed to ethnically cleanse Baghdad. They strategically surround us there now and can do to us just what Hizbollah did to Israel just last year. Those rocket and mortar attacks into the green zone are exactly a taunt to get us into ground conflict in those neighborhoods, that are mostly stolen property. Going in on foot is nice and courageous, and a total waste of fine infantry. If a Rocket or mortar is launched from an area, you give the non-combatants 72 hours to evacuate on foot through friendly lines to humanitarian facilities and flatten the area behind them. Again, there is no economic downside except for the bad actors and those that harbor them. After a few Iron Hand raids, when we dictate to a community terms and conditions, it will be heard loud and clear.

The Russians brutally solved their radical Muslim problem in Chechnya, with an Iron Hand. I am sick and tired of an endless war. I am a retired warfighter. I believe in force application. As far as the decline of America, that is a foolish bet. We have been counted out many times. We are building out an ABM system that will likely result in complete control of Air and Space, and the ability to strike any nation, anywhere, with virtual impunity. (Let alone a 13th century population of Sadrists, or the Mahdi, etc.)

I do not need to use nuclear munitions against any target. 1 B-52H can carry 108 500LB bombs. I keep two wings of those. I have B-1's, B-2's, Nearly unlimited Carrier Air, etc. A single Air Boss to get the troops out and apply the Iron Hand.

Lets not forget "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED", we got the man who thretned to kill "MY DADDY". That what this is all about,so lets have them pay for this with their own oil. They have been fighting against each other for over 2000 years,

Braes- where would we get the soldiers from? We already have to offer huge cash bonuses to recruits who all to often have questionable backgrounds. Those guys over there fight for ideology. It will always be half-war Braes, because what is paramount to the world's leaders and ruling class -christian, jew, and muslim- is that the global economy continue to function without disruption. So nukes and massive aerial campaigns over population centers are out. And since we don't have massive amounts of men eager to fight for "our way of life", half-war and the gradual decline of America is the way it's going to be.

Al Sadr needs to die. He is a punk on an Iranian leash. If he isn't delivered up in 72 hours to the government, an announcement demanding non-combatants evacuate areas of operations prior to B-52 strikes to eliminate the Sadr City slum. Likewise any area where an Iranian munition is fired from and 5km around it. If Al Maliki doesn't want to play ball, he should be shot. The next in line will get the gravity of the situation. We shot Diem in Vietnam, someone ought to let Al Maliki know his corpse and Al Sadrs would make a fine return on investment. It's his call as to how high the butchers bill runs. A December bombing campaign ended our last Viet Nam. As for outrage in the rest of the Muslim world, do you really think you will survive a truly enraged hyperpower? You will be exterminated like insects. Bush has already tossed the laws of war out the window and Geneva, Nuremburg, Vienna, etc. Side with the Shia and die.

Flatten the Shia and bounce the rubble. Give them 72 hours to evacuate or hand over the wanted. Then we can moe to the Hindu-Kush and apply the same Iron Hand. No more half-war.

The real question is, is Sadr operating with Iraqi national loyalty in mind or Iranian loyalty? He appears to be walking a thin line between the two and he must come down on one side or the other soon. Iraq can not have a central government if a large bloc of its legislators are taking orders from an outside source.

It will not help Iran to have a powerful central government in Iraq if they wish to become the dominate power in the region. Maliki needs to force Sadrs hand before the election. Either he disbands the Mahdi army or be seen as an Iranian puppet. Hiding behind "top religious leaders" has been his cheapest trick as he claims it to be Sistani he consults however he is really taking pointers from the Ayatollah in Iran. Thats the trouble with following his religious ties instead of his national ones.

Sharia people are at war with The West because Sharia people believe Islam can not survive against: a free market economy with free speech to criticize Islam.

International law, has defined a set of war rule parameters that guarantee no war can be won by good guys and that guarantee nice long lasting wars with lots of weapons sales.

Generals: Patton. Eisenhower, Marshall , Sherman et al would all be war criminals under international law and Europe would be under Hitler; the American civil war would not be over if fought under the current rules; which, intentionally or unintentionally, are designed for a hundred year terror war.

Cut off terrorist infested countries/areas: no phones, no lights, no motorcars not a single luxury. No food, no water, no ships/airplanes in and out, no trucks cross their borders; nothing till they give up the terrorism. Better the terrorist should die right there than have a war where the world is terrorized for 100 years.

The leadership that sponsors these terrorist suicide murders are the Heads of state in Tehran, Riyadh, and Damascus and Mr Moqtada al-Sadr

and his Mahdly army of losers.

Intelligence analyst: Getzel

This points up a big reason why the US has separated the "Church" and the "State".  It is really too bad that so many countries are controled by the priesthood.  These are totally different areas of life and should be treated as such.  But too often, as we see all over the Muslim world, they are still controlled by the high priests of their religion, who seem to interpret it only for their benefit.  The muslim religion is no different than any other, in that they still believe in God, no matter who their prophet is.  SO, if God's word says, "thou shalt not kill", that can't be interpreted as to mean only what the priests say it means, the meaning is perfectly clear.