But even if the regime is running on auto-pilot, we need to remember that "shock and awe" may still have its place. It just hasn't worked yet. (It hasn't worked at the level of the RG.)
Why not? Why hasn't it worked at the mid-level of the RG? It's because of the residual but fierce terror which still pervades the mid-level officers under the doomed regime. They have examined their odds and made their best calculations for survival. Alas, they have made the wrong calculations. Despite the fact that they have thus far refused to surrender, 60 officers were executed last night by the regime--and replaced with Fedayeen militants.
These poor bastards in the RG keep making fatal mistakes--because they aren't scared enough of us yet.
This terror-wrought stupidity is something we still have to deal with. Still, I think that the civilians are the ones whom we need to terrify the most. (Some people say we shouldn't scare the civilians, but just try to woo them to our side. This is utter nonsense. The dynamics of the situation are those of terror. We need to fight terror with terror.)
There are two explanations for another costly deployment of infantry-based personnel, support structures and armor halfway accross the world to be positioned at the outskirts of a 5 million person urban center in which we have declined concentrated bombardment: either we are extending our holiday getaway to the dream vacation paradises of Syria and Iran or this is a purely political move to soothe the egos of the heavy metal Pentagon bullies and get some shine going into this next budget period so the Jarheads don't steal their funding motherlode.
The former scares the hell out of me but I'm on board, the latter disgusts me as a taxpayer who just lost half my tax break because of the costs of this little party.
Let's shoot some heavy shells just to prove the tanks and artillery batteries can do it. It's past that point. If we are still in the process of killing people and breaking things in the Medina, Neberwhaezzer and other Republican Guard units outside Baghdad when the big dogs get here next month - we are in trouble in this venture. The Guard should be flattened or wandering in a panic around the edges of Baghdad by Saturday or Sunday at the latest. Weather permitting.
Sitting around in formation by the tens of thousands waiting for the Joker to lay some of his knockout gas on us is not a good plan. The 4th missed the game, they'll get over it. Maybe they can blow the shit out of Turkey for orchestrating this insult. ;^)
* Blowed up real good
These RG guys, even if they do "withdraw" into the streets, have nowhere to go. They'll take off their uniforms, but they'll also bury their guns and hope for the best. They aren't going to street fight, that's not their training. They'll die in their bunkers or they'll lay low until the infidels say they can come out without being shot. They're professional military, and they deserve to be treated as such. If there is some security goon shooting them in the back, they need to turn on that guy. They'll get it. They have a chance to live if they run or surrender. They die if they fight us or capitulate to the terrorists.
But you are right, we need to prime that pump and make the calculated outcomes of their actions more desperate and imminent. The best option for us is to just kill them and their tormentors and solve the drama for all.