If you subscribe to the military surge or the immediate withdrawal as the only viable options to ending the war in Iraq, there is another way. Here is an idea that defies the present mindset, yet will bring the honor and integrity of our nation back to where it used to be. And it may save a lot of young soldiers lives as well.



I'm not going to rant about the reason we are there or who's to blame. I want to talk about people; people who need help. I have my views, but I'm not taking sides. I want peace above all.

The first problem in Iraq is the insurgents. How does one conquer an enemy that wears no uniform, obeys no rules of war and has no single leader? You do it with food, not guns.

The first thing that needs to be done is to feed and house the people. Use the army to supervise and guard food supplies as they travel through rogue militias or warlord territory. If this requires temporary tribute to pass through unharmed, for God sake do it. Pay them off if necessary. Anything to stop the violence, however temporary. If we use the army to bring them food, water, medical and personal supplies, we will then truly be seen as heroes and not conquerors or an occupying force that will not leave.

Give some money directly to the people to help jumpstart the economy. Then start programs where skilled and unskilled Iraqi labor is used to rebuild schools, roads and other infrastructure, leaving Haliburton out of the picture for now. Supervise and guide this with the military, but use Iraqi bosses as foremen for Iraqi work crews.

To get power up quickly, install solar panels and fuel cells (the super-storage batteries that he army uses). Then you won't have to wait to rebuild the generators, or use gas or oil, or have need of any electric wires or gas pipes. This would bring quality of living conditions and bring communications on line. This could happen really quickly.

Soon you will find that a well-fed populace with jobs, a decent place to live and a little spending cash are very willing to give away any information needed to crack down on the location of those who are committing the atrocities and disrupting daily life. They will actively assist in ridding the country of those who they are now cheering on.

Don't forget that many of these "insurgents" are just uneducated and angry youths with nothing to do and no opportunities. Kids are paid just a little money to lay mines and take pot shots at American soldiers. Many don't even care about what they are doing or why they are doing it, they just need the money.

So let's give them the money to be at peace through jobs, instead of letting the opposition give it to them for war. Insurgents can not viably exist in a peaceful place. They feed on chaos and destruction. Take that away and they wither, crawling back into the cracks they came out of.

Once the violence starts to cool, there must be assistance to bring the religious factions into some form of cooperation or separation so that this does not cause any friction and begin the violence all over. For that, I leave it to the creativity of the diplomats. My main idea is to get the violence stopped or at lease under control without getting our troops injured or killed in the process.

I hear people saying that it doesn't matter how we got there, that now that we are there and we have to deal with it. Well here is how I recommend we deal with it. If there are any politicians reading this, or anyone who has the ear of an influential person in Washington, please, let's at least float this idea. It is a positive solution to a terrible problem. It is a way to unite both the Iraqis and the Americans in a cause to work together for the benefit of all.