My Personal Thoughts at Year's End
Gentle readers worldwide, friends of the Stingray Regime everywhere, I, the Defensemaster, would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support in this first year of existence for Festung Europa, the blog where the answer to all questions is yes…and no! I am aware that the first anniversary of this blog is in February, oddly coinciding with the death of my beloved uncle, John, from whom I inherited an independent way of thinking and a deep-seated misogynism which, despite marriage or more likely because of it, remains to this day. He also taught me something more important, namely a respect for nature and a conservation ethic, which sadly still gets pushed aside by those for whom profit is their sole motivation.
But I digress; this is a post to thank you for your continued readership, wish you and yours a happy and prosperous New Year 2007 and share some of my personal thoughts as the Old Year 2006 draws to a close. Two-thousand six showed that the United States can let another year go by without coming up with any kind of viable strategy for the ruinous occupation of Mesopotamia. The problem is, there are no longer any good options. But just what would constitute an American victory in Iraq? The President says we are in it for victory, but has he laid out any set of guidelines by which we could objectively measure our progress? And how will victory in the “War on Terror”, whatever that means, be measured? In the Second World War, the Allies determined that unconditional surrender of the Axis powers would be the only acceptable terms. What are these terms now? In the case of terrorists, the US is dealing not with nation states but with organizations who generally have no qualms about becoming martyrs for the cause. And as the country of Iraq keeps hurtling on the course to civil war (some think it is already there), just what should be done? In the spirit of every man being an expert, here are my humble suggestions:
1) Divide Iraq up among sectarian lines. The Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis will each have their own independent states under a loose confederacy. This would require, of course, some displacement of populations, but if these tribal differences can’t be resolved, separate them, just like three fighting kids on the playground. The model here would be the ex-Yugoslavia, where this self-determination on ethnic lines has seen some success. Some functions would remain under a centralized Iraqi government for the time being, namely the management of the oil revenues, which would be divided between the three countries and fund reconstruction projects, which would also be centrally planned.
2) Security, Security, Security. A lot of people are critical of Bush’s proposal to “surge” troops into Iraq, but the general idea, in my opinion, is not flawed. More troops can definitely provide more security. However, I would like to see a transfer of security to a large, multinational UN force who would secure the internal and external borders. The UN can come in as a sort of independent party, unsullied by the experiences of the past 3 years, and provide a security force for the new internal borders, until the defense forces of each entity can provide it on their own. The external security on the currently porous borders with Iran and Syria can be provided by these blue helmets as well. As for the current Iraqi army, I would divide it up among sectarian lines and continue to train it so that it can take over the internal security mission of the UN for the interior borders in four years time. I think the UN will be there much longer in the case of external security, at least 10 years, maybe more. This stabilizing presence is necessary to keep the wolves outside Iraq at bay, which brings me to the next point.
3) The Problem with Outside Influences. Of course, this plan would cause problems with Turkey, who absolutely does not want an independent Kurdish state on its border, Syria, and Iran. I think Turkey could be bought off with accelerated EU membership. Iran could be bought off with support for its civil nuclear program, provided that they allow fully-independent UN inspections and oversight. Syria could be bought off perhaps with an easing of trade restrictions. The key to diplomacy is the carrot, rather than the stick, and by providing the right carrots, these outside influences could be kept in check.
Do I think that something like this will happen? No, but I have a feeling that things will keep getting worse should the US continue its rudderless course along the Tigris and Euphrates. We need a viable plan, and we need it yesterday. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have pretty much broken the fighting capability of the US Army for contingencies outside of Southwest Asia, and a transfer to a multinational UN force would allow a transfer of the majority of US troops out of Iraq to refit, leaving perhaps a infantry division plus as part of the UN troop structure.
And so, the most pressing political issue of the year aside and on a more personal note, here are some things which I did not get accomplished in 2006, which will have to be pushed into 2007 and beyond:
Start a bonsai tree from scratch.
Take a shamanic journey.
Learn French.
Pick up the acoustic guitar.
Meditate.
Journey to Iceland.
Perform a sweat lodge ceremony.
Eat more fruit and vegetables.
Get back my drawing hand.
Cook Indian food.
May peace be the theme for 2007 on both the international stage and in your personal life.
DMSR
Don’t Make Stress Real
But I digress; this is a post to thank you for your continued readership, wish you and yours a happy and prosperous New Year 2007 and share some of my personal thoughts as the Old Year 2006 draws to a close. Two-thousand six showed that the United States can let another year go by without coming up with any kind of viable strategy for the ruinous occupation of Mesopotamia. The problem is, there are no longer any good options. But just what would constitute an American victory in Iraq? The President says we are in it for victory, but has he laid out any set of guidelines by which we could objectively measure our progress? And how will victory in the “War on Terror”, whatever that means, be measured? In the Second World War, the Allies determined that unconditional surrender of the Axis powers would be the only acceptable terms. What are these terms now? In the case of terrorists, the US is dealing not with nation states but with organizations who generally have no qualms about becoming martyrs for the cause. And as the country of Iraq keeps hurtling on the course to civil war (some think it is already there), just what should be done? In the spirit of every man being an expert, here are my humble suggestions:
1) Divide Iraq up among sectarian lines. The Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis will each have their own independent states under a loose confederacy. This would require, of course, some displacement of populations, but if these tribal differences can’t be resolved, separate them, just like three fighting kids on the playground. The model here would be the ex-Yugoslavia, where this self-determination on ethnic lines has seen some success. Some functions would remain under a centralized Iraqi government for the time being, namely the management of the oil revenues, which would be divided between the three countries and fund reconstruction projects, which would also be centrally planned.
2) Security, Security, Security. A lot of people are critical of Bush’s proposal to “surge” troops into Iraq, but the general idea, in my opinion, is not flawed. More troops can definitely provide more security. However, I would like to see a transfer of security to a large, multinational UN force who would secure the internal and external borders. The UN can come in as a sort of independent party, unsullied by the experiences of the past 3 years, and provide a security force for the new internal borders, until the defense forces of each entity can provide it on their own. The external security on the currently porous borders with Iran and Syria can be provided by these blue helmets as well. As for the current Iraqi army, I would divide it up among sectarian lines and continue to train it so that it can take over the internal security mission of the UN for the interior borders in four years time. I think the UN will be there much longer in the case of external security, at least 10 years, maybe more. This stabilizing presence is necessary to keep the wolves outside Iraq at bay, which brings me to the next point.
3) The Problem with Outside Influences. Of course, this plan would cause problems with Turkey, who absolutely does not want an independent Kurdish state on its border, Syria, and Iran. I think Turkey could be bought off with accelerated EU membership. Iran could be bought off with support for its civil nuclear program, provided that they allow fully-independent UN inspections and oversight. Syria could be bought off perhaps with an easing of trade restrictions. The key to diplomacy is the carrot, rather than the stick, and by providing the right carrots, these outside influences could be kept in check.
Do I think that something like this will happen? No, but I have a feeling that things will keep getting worse should the US continue its rudderless course along the Tigris and Euphrates. We need a viable plan, and we need it yesterday. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have pretty much broken the fighting capability of the US Army for contingencies outside of Southwest Asia, and a transfer to a multinational UN force would allow a transfer of the majority of US troops out of Iraq to refit, leaving perhaps a infantry division plus as part of the UN troop structure.
And so, the most pressing political issue of the year aside and on a more personal note, here are some things which I did not get accomplished in 2006, which will have to be pushed into 2007 and beyond:
Start a bonsai tree from scratch.
Take a shamanic journey.
Learn French.
Pick up the acoustic guitar.
Meditate.
Journey to Iceland.
Perform a sweat lodge ceremony.
Eat more fruit and vegetables.
Get back my drawing hand.
Cook Indian food.
May peace be the theme for 2007 on both the international stage and in your personal life.
DMSR
Don’t Make Stress Real
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