Originally Posted by
paraclete
Forgive me Tom if I'm not up on the finer points, and that places you politically too, but isn't that what I suggested or do you just want to level any city held by daesh? Your solution suggests the civilian population is the enemy, whereas the enemy is the same enemy that existed in 2003 with a somewhat different focus. The shiia Iraqi's are actually fighting the sunni baathists with some very changed fundamentalist ideals. They created this situation so what? Should the sunni population pay? the Sunni Baathist are vowed not to stop until they take Baghdad and thus the Iraqi government. You and I both know that means genocide they will settle all their old scores
The question we have to ask is has this become a conventional war where massed armies can have at it? Daesh took territory because the Iraqi army wouldn't fight, they were cowered, probably by suicide bombing and I cannot see anything has changed. Daesh have filled a vacuum in both Iraq and Syria and recently their turkish allies provided them with air power. I think we should all withdraw from this islamist double game, protect the Kurds and let the locals handle it.