The American Spectator

Secretary Babbin made some excellent points regarding the need to use sufficient forces to crush the insurgencies in Iraq. The sad part is that he needed to articulate the points at all. It is so obvious that our unwillingness to aggressively punish the insurgents is emboldening them. This attitude by the Coalition authorities is simply unacceptable.

As to the need for more troops, a more robust use of air forces may very well negate the need for additional ground personnel. Like Mr. Babbin I would give the same ultimatum to Fallujah. But instead of attacking the town from the ground and risking the lives of our soldiers and Marines I would simply level it with a few BLU-82 high explosive concussion bombs from C-130s. Another alternative would be B-52’s with 2,000 pound iron bombs. I wouldn’t waste time trying to be “surgical” with smart weapons launched by fighters. We did that during the fight against Saddam Hussein’s forces last year, and it did not earn us very much good will. It’s time for the big stuff. Let’s take of the kid gloves and get serious. If necessary we can deal with hurt feelings later.

Is the course of action I describe harsh? Of course, but it is imperative that we force the general population of Iraq and its leaders, including the religious figures, to acknowledge that they are a defeated country. And we also need to send a strong message to the troublemakers in Damascus and Tehran.