14 August 2006

Stop the War - Give a Car

The problem with Iraq is that the Iraqis don't have enough to protect. Oh sure, there is wealth there, but it's not widely distributed. Do you think a middle class would put up with insurgents? Or the US military? Both are destroying what's there. Can you imagine SUV-driving, mall-loving Americans putting up with that? We'd turn in the former to the FBI and put an initiative on the ballot for the latter to leave.

But there are too many people with too little in Iraq. Especially the insurgents. Yes, they're fighting against the occupying army (us) but do you think they'd risk so much if they had it to risk? Most people won't - that's why wars are fought by armies of peasants. We need more smug Iraqis complacent with a peaceful status quo in order to quell the insurgents and get out of Bush's folly. This leads to the conclusion that we can use a traditional American tactic: we can buy our way out of Iraq.

We spend about $177M/per day in Iraq. Let's take a year of that money and offer a $50,000 Mercedes to the first 1300 people who show up and turn in substantial weapons and information to the government.

We get two results. First, a reduction in weapons and an increase in counter-insurgency information. Second, you have just converted an insurgent into someone with something to protect. Send him off to a remote area, register his car, and let him figure out what to do.

Call this a pilot program. If it works, take another year's worth of money. Certainly two year's worth of money ought to made a big dent in the insurgency. The worse case is that you'd have to give a car to each of the the 27 million people in Iraq - about 20 year's worth of current fighting money. But gee, if that's what it takes, just pull out now anyway.

Weird Views ©2006 Charles Petrie