Manx

How many times will we have to "take" Fallujah? Or the next city? Or the one after that?

It'll only take a couple of cities to maintain the insurgency. Are all of them going to fall into line? That's what it is really - each city held by insurgents and demolished by the U.S. is going to face a decision - the hell of insurgent rule vs. the hell of destruction by the U.S.

How quickly can a city be rebuilt? The people can't live there very well during that time - but I'd bet the insurgency can still survive.

Fallujah was nothing more than a grand showcase of American might. It cannot possibly convert the average Iraqi's heart+mind to the U.S. cause. There will always be a city or two or three that will be ruled by insurgents if there is no U.S. military presence - as long as the U.S. military action is to completely sack an insurgent city.

This military policy is like bringing in an exterminator company to remove cockroachs and ants, and in the process of killing off the bugs in each room, the exterminators leave piles of rotten food for the next wave to feed off. It's a lose-lose scenario.