Originally Posted by Zemco

All of that has to be viewed in the context of geo-political strategy. You need to be looking now at the world as it might be 25-35 years from now.

All of the actions you listed are more than feasible and would have been viable options, if Iraq was North Korea, or Libya, or the island nation of Fiji, none of which are relevant to US geo-political strategy.

So tell me what US "geo-political strategy" are you talking about?

However, the US Grand Master All-Star Game Plan has not changed in the last 30 years, and part of the game plane requires the US to control Iraq so that it can be used as a base for future military operations, rather than merely having access to Iraq or the ability to influence Iraq.

What is the "US Grand Master All-Star Game Plan" that hasn't changed in 30 years and requires a US occupation of Iraq? Is this in regards to Iran or the Cold War? Who authored the above "Plan", and what national security paradigms are they using?

The US certainly could have used Iraqi "freedom fighters" trained in Pakistan with US tax payer money channeled through the Pakistani ISI to fight a proxy war, just like it does Chechnyan "freedom fighters" and just like it did the "mujhadeen," but there are no guarantees. A proxy war could last for a decade or more, just like Afghanistan, and the end result could be a government that does not march in lock-step with the US, just like in Afghanistan, which ultimately required military action by the US.

And this Iraqi government marches in lock-step with the US? What is Maliki's position on Israel, or Iran?

If the US must attain certain objectives within a given time period in order to be successful in its geo-political strategy, then its options become increasingly limited as time runs out. That was the situation in Iraq, and it is the present situation in Iran. If the US does not act on Iran soon, the US will have increasing limited options, lose control, and may have its geo-political strategy disrupted for the long term, even thwarted to the extent that it results in failure, which would be devastating to the US, since it has bet the farm on the eastern Russian republics and has no other viable alternative strategy plan.