Political and Strategic Goals in Fallujah?

It is not about the U.S. anymore and it is not stategic. The situation where a hub for a few terrorist has formed in Fallujah to threaten millions of Iraqis and its stability is very real. Ofcourse they will be removed,it is only a matter of time. It will benefit Iraq more than anything, they are killing mostly Iraqis.

no one of any side will ebenfit, you cant beat terrorists by hoping to ensare and kill all of them, and you cant force concessions on the Us puppet regime there by making some sort of stand.  No one gains, but the citizens of Iraq lose no matter what.

Catt,

This is about the U.S. Everything that the U.S. ever does is about the U.S. Notice how the U.S. has not offered help to governments dealing with terrorism in areas that do not interest it.

One of my problems with the U.S. operation in Iraq is its vague political and strategic goals. The Powell doctrine states that these should be clear for a successful military operation.

Thanks for sharing.



Edited by hugoestr

Catt,

I think that you are confusing ulterior motives with political and strategic goals. You are stating that the U.S. does not have any hidden purpose to be in Iraq, i.e. oil. What I want to discuss is what is the U.S. trying to achive with the Fallujah assault, i.e. kill the terrorist, revenge for the failing to win months ago, secure the region.

Stated in other words, how is this going to shift the balance of perceived power in the area(political), and what military advantage does holding Fallujah gives the U.S.(strategic)?

I want to hear what other people interested in warfare has to say about this.

uhm..first gulf war was very much about the US and allies, threat to stabel Saudi oil supplies, and preventing a Saddam monopoly, which was his intent on the oil.  Those are the basic and recognized reasons for why the US liberated Kuwait, and why it was able to amass so many allies doing so.

As for Falluja, people may think it will accomplish something but it wont, you cant outkill terroritsts, we are now running at 85% of Iraqis seeing America as more of a threat than the insurgents, and most of the casualties of civilians coem from US ordinace, thus the more urban brawls we slug the more revenge crazed people going to attack us later we get.

However, obviously if democracy is going to established, rushed and artifical as it may be, you need to make sure the entire country is integrated into the process to maximize legitimacy and prevent fragmentation.  Thus the objective, poorly planned as it is, is to "clean up" the country before mass polling for government.  Also think of how bad it looks to have an election while a city or city is not part of the process due to armed hostility.

Thanks for the latests posts, Catt. That is the kind of answer that I was looking for. You may have remembered that the assault was tried before, but the U.S. moved away from the area. This was good, since it allowed many of the civilians to leave the area before the latest attack.

Since you asked my opinion, I will give it to you. I think the political goal is to show the insurgents who is boss in Iraq. I believe that the strategic goal of the leadership is to take away a central base for the insurgents to organize.

I know that the U.S. will be successful in the short term and with the military operation. They literally kick ass as armed forces.

I am still trying to make up my mind about the long term results from this.

And thanks too for keeping the discussion focused. I will start a new thread about Iraq 1991 since people have opinions on the issue.

Related link: gunship at work

Edited by babyblue

Yes,heavy stuff babyblue.

men? it is one man isnt it Jalisco? i hope he was right when he believed him to be a hostile faking death.

I have to disagree with calling it a "fiasco". yes many got away but the main objective was to take the city and they did.Time will tell friend.

I was not expecting that they were going to capture an execution on video. I am not surprised that something like this happened since the rules of engagement were so lax. And Jalisco is right: they have been playing this video over and over on Arabic media.

As I expected, the military operation was a success. Now the questions is, will this help win the war on terror? Will the escape of the insurgent's leaders make them look like cowards in the Arab world, or will they look like clever heroes who know when it is futile to put up a fight?

I hope this works for the best. Based on the track record that this war has had so far, I would bet money that it doesn't. If anything, it legitimizes Osama's claims about the U.S. in that area. But I still want a good outcome, so I am hoping that it works out.

Hugo