American Foreign Policy: Part II

Today the American Enterprise Institute unveiled its own report concerning the current situation in Iraq.

The leader behind this report is Fredrick Kagan, a well respected military historian. Co-authoring the report with Mr. Kagan is that of Retired Army General Jack Keane. Both are members and scholars with the Conservative leaning American Enterprise Institute.

***On a side note Fredrick Kagan's father Donald is the author of The Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace, a nice read, though dry.

The main premise or recommendation the Kagan-Keane Report offers is an increase in troop levels in Iraq. Listening to the unveiling of the report on C-Span today, Mr. Kagan stated that between 25,000 & 30,000 more soldiers would be needed in Iraq for a period of at least 18 months.

The Kagan-Keane reports believes that if troop levels are increased for a short period of time, 6 to 9 months, the Iraqi insurgence will lay low for that period of time and then attack the nation as the American forces leave. By having a prolonged increase in troop levels would allow the military sufficient time to quell the violence and establish a proactive military infrastructure by which the Iraqi government would control. The end result is a secure Baghdad by the fall of 2007. It is widely believed that the American Enterprise Institute has the ear of President Bush and that Mr. Bush's new Iraq Policy change will include measures outlined by the Kagan-Keane Study.

- With Iraq in such a mess right now President Bush must be willing to hear all sides and all opinions regarding the future of Iraq Policy. He now has the Baker-Hamilton, Kagan-Keane, and the Defense Department reports and recommendations regarding possible future policy change. Mr. Bush must sift through each report and pull what he believes the correct path for which the United States should take, at least in the two years he has left in the White House.

This war is not going to be easily won. Some say victory is unattainable, but the idea to give up on acquired victory is wrong. Despite President Bush's best efforts to hamper progress in Iraq, the United States and its military still has a chance for victory. It will take resolve and most of all overwhelming force.

An increase in troop levels may seem counter-productive at the moment, especially since Americans do not have the heart for prolonged war, but it is the option that gives us the best chance for victory. We must be willing to use all necessary military force to bat the insurgency into submission. Using an increase of forces in Iraq would allow the military to have the added man power it needs to fight a war on all fronts. Once insurgent attacks have lessened and the Iraqi Government and military feels comfortable in its clothes the United States can leave.

- I wish the situation was different, but it is not. President Bush failed to realize the flaws of his predecessors. The next President of the United States will have to deal with Iraq and its lasting effects on the Middle East and American politics.

I believe that the key for prolonged victory with various factions in the Middle East is energy. Once the United States is able to stop using and consuming petroleum the demand will weaken in Middle Eastern nations. As demand weakens, the price falls. When the price falls for oil and the United States advances its energy resources, the crutch for which nations like Saudi Arabia-Iran-Iraq-Yemen-Kuwait will begin to crumble.

Nations in the Middle East rely on the revenue of oil to stay economically afloat. The United States must be willing to advance itself and its technology to move past the resources those Middle Eastern nations offer. Eventually without the economic revenue provided by the United States the Middle Eastern nations will slowly drain the only resource they can provide.

When bankruptcy begins to loom over those Middle Eastern nations, they will be forced to tap into a resource they previously have not used; human ingenuity.

Hopefully while money and revenue disappears from the Middle East, the United States will be riding a wave of new technology in the area of energy. New technologies can then be used as diplomatic leverage when dealing with the Middle East.

It is my desired goal that through American advancement in energy technology, the old methods by which the Middle East conducted itself (economically and socially) will fall apart. As money dries up, the people in those nations will become poorer and poorer, thus leading to revolution. Or at least admittance and understanding that what they have believed in for so long has left them technologically and socially retarded. I believe the end result should be the decay and fall of the Middle Eastern civilization. Societies unwilling to advance should always be left behind.

This desired goal cannot be achieved by solely militaristic means. It must be done through societal advancement in technology and diplomacy. It will also take years, even decades. If this is what the "War on Terror" is, Americans must realize it is going to be a long and hard fought battle.