[Moneyguy1]

The president may be in possession of info we do not have. The question is: Does he take it into account when being "The Decider" or does he pick and choose those elements that agree with his internal compass? From so many sources, it appeas that the latter is more likely, and there are those who are OK with that. These are the folks that bother me the most because, like the "Is there a God" thread, these folks accept whatever their leadership says as truth, even when the message morphs over time like the game of "telephone" played by children. I would agree that techinques must change as the environment changes, but so many changes without any apparent logic.

A bit more thought, a tad more negotiation, please. Teddy R. had the right philosophy. We have the big stick, but the use of that stick should be prudent.

BTW: Just an idea.....Consider a sausage balloon. Squeeze it somewhere and you can collapse that part, but the constrained air bulges out in the rest of the balloon. Squeeze it somewhere else and the part you squeezed first looks like it had neven been squeezed. Unless you can squeeze the whole balloon at once, this will always be the case. Thus it might be in an occupation. Concentrate your resources in City A and City B goes berserk. Move your resources t City B and oops! What just happened in City A? So....measuring the effects of a "surge" can be a tricky proposition and the results can be tailored to fit your point of view. If a job is to be done correctly, enough resources must be applied. Were they? And, if not, where are these resources to come from? If the President's supporters can answer these questions rationally and unemotionally, I am sure everyone here would appreciate the enlightenment.

Modern warfare utilizing brute force is as outdated as frontal charges became in Napolian's time.