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So what kind of cooperation did the South Koreans get from the surviving villagers from what was left of the hamlet?

So long as our stated mission is to help Iraq build it's society we can't go around and wipe out the local inhabitants regardless of provocation. If we reach the point where we decide that the whole population is suspect and should be leveled on sight then what the hell are we doing there to begin with?

My own personal opinion is that North is right. Additional troops won't make a difference because the bad guys know that they'll go away eventually and are willing to keep their heads down till that happens. Somehow the Iraqi people have to come to the conclusion that their own future is worth fighting for and get trained to accomplish that goal. How they will ever overcome the sectarian hatred is beyond me, and I think that that will be the eventual reason for failure. Not the military or the Democrats, but the fact that having saved the Iraqis from Saddam Hussein we could not save them from themselves.

So what kind of cooperation did the South Koreans get from the surviving villagers from what was left of the hamlet?

What kind of co-operation did the Americans get from those hamlets they left untouched? The Koreans wanted the enemy to die; they made it clear to the population that sheltering the enemy was a death sentence, and it was a message well understood.

As I recall, we punished the hell out of Germany and forced it to submit before reconstructing them. The problem with Iraq is that the Islamists are not cowed enough. Nor are there clear consequences seen for violating civil peace.

How they will ever overcome the sectarian hatred is beyond me, and I think that that will be the eventual reason for failure. Not the military or the Democrats, but the fact that having saved the Iraqis from Saddam Hussein we could not save them from themselves.

I believe that in future that no war should be based upon anything to do with "hearts and minds". Kill the enemy and go home.

Regards, Ivan

we can't go around and wipe out the local inhabitants regardless of provocation.

Actually we can. Jihadists understand that sort of approach. Every other approach means to them that we are cowards and nothing more and Allah has delivered us into their hands. We can kill ALL of the fighters in an area and prevent others from entering and more will rise from the population there. The Jihad mindset is absolute in its inacquaintance with reason. The Jihadist believes the highest honor is to die killing infidels and these jihadists are springing up from the sand and the rocks. The population has to be stunned so that the OS no longer functions and a new program can be downloaded.That tactic was successful in Germany and in Japan. That and we still have not entirely militarily left those countries. And in Iraq which has no connection at all with Western sensibilities or any culture based on reason, we mean to knock down some terrorists and boogy on home.The job will not be done until (there is no unless here, it is until)the war comes to the malls and the cities in the US and Americans finally understand the nature of the enemy.

Somehow the Iraqi people have to come to the conclusion that their own future is worth fighting for and get trained to accomplish that goal.

What does the term "the Iraqi people" mean to you?

Do you believe there is such a thing as "Iraqi" nationality, and how would you define it?

Why do you believe they "have to come to the (any) conclusion"?

Do you support continued consumption of soldiers and Marines lives while waiting for something to happen "somehow"?