I have always thought that the war in Iraq was more a chess move than anything. 9/11 just accelerated the pace and added some urgency. The goal has always been to neutralize Iran.
Step 1: Afghanistan, stabilize. Original goal was to get in, and clean up. Got messy, everyone would agree with that. Ideally form a base for operations not dependent on Pakistan.
Step 2: Iraq, remove Saddam and push Democracy (or some form of it). Establish ourselves and base troops.
Step 3: Convince Pakistan to turn on the militants. Not a perfect plan by any means, but their military is actually operating in the tribal areas these days. A major step up.
Goal: Surround Iran with American bases, troops, and ideologically allied nations.
Now look at a map. Where is conjunction with Iran do we have active military forces? Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Emerite States, Afghanistan. Close allies in India. Pakistan is still the wild card. Fact of the matter is, in one decade we have surrounded Iran and boxed them in. Classic maneuver. The goal in Iraq was to depose Saddam and find a permanent home for a lot of US soldiers. We now have them completely surrounded.
Step 1: Afghanistan, stabilize. Original goal was to get in, and clean up. Got messy, everyone would agree with that. Ideally form a base for operations not dependent on Pakistan.
Step 2: Iraq, remove Saddam and push Democracy (or some form of it). Establish ourselves and base troops.
Step 3: Convince Pakistan to turn on the militants. Not a perfect plan by any means, but their military is actually operating in the tribal areas these days. A major step up.
Goal: Surround Iran with American bases, troops, and ideologically allied nations.
Now look at a map. Where is conjunction with Iran do we have active military forces? Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Emerite States, Afghanistan. Close allies in India. Pakistan is still the wild card. Fact of the matter is, in one decade we have surrounded Iran and boxed them in. Classic maneuver. The goal in Iraq was to depose Saddam and find a permanent home for a lot of US soldiers. We now have them completely surrounded.
