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How long are we going to continue this absurdity? We keep fighting according to Olympic Boxing Rules, and the other guy is slamming us in the balls. We ought to turn Al Jazeera into the History Channel, and stop worrying about whether some sensibilities are rattled when we create some hardships for civilians in Iraq.

What would Roosevelt do?

ML/NJ

When will people understand that we are engaged in a clash of civilizations, and that only one side is civilized.

"What would Roosevelt do?"

Or for that matter, Truman.

None of these Shites are going to "drop dime" on the fedayeen until they can hide behind the squad. The Brits need to get within their swing zone. That's when they'll have the locals giving them head nods, subtle directional pointing and complete breifing. These wonderful Arabs of Basra know where EVERY one of the fedayeen are hiding out. Nothing escapes the eyes, ears and whispers of the homeboys.

They're not stupid however, they're going to wait until enough Anglo guys are in the house to give THEM the assurance that they will suffer no sanction. But ... when the Brits get down there, they'll have solid real time intel. There's no love lost among this crew.

Basra is not like a Chicago suburb, where nobody knows nuthin about nobody and nuthin nosy about nobodys business. Arabs know everything about everybody's business, and they know which of their neighbors are being held hostage right now, how many ghouls are situated where, how many civilians, the layout of the buildings etc. These guys spend their entire lives in that city, on that street.

The Brits better come to a peace with the reality that innocents will be shot. By them. If some murderous sociopath appears in a door with a woman held in front of him with one arm and an automatic weapon poised to shoot in the other .... the Royal Marine needs to fire away. If this guy is allowed to escape, he'll probably kill her anyway and grab someone else. It's going to have to come to this with this type of animal. Shoot high and often, the hostage is going to duck and the perp is going to focus on the firefight. Messy shit.

I wonder if there is someway to distribute a knockout gas throughout these tenaments that are serving as fedayeen refuge/hostage centers?

The Brits are in stalemate right now. The fedayeen are not going anywhere. Their strategy will not change. No amount of shelling will be effective. It's house to house. But ... I am certain that once the good guys get to the hood, the locals will give them perfect poop.