A Simple Solution for Iraq

The enemy of militant Islam is not foreign military force; rather, it is the youth of Iraq who, when educated and given a taste of freedom and a life without violence, refuse to continue the cycle of violence. Combating militant Islam is as simple as:

1. Creating one new mini Green Zone for each of the educational, medical, and willing religious facilities in Iraq, each extending around enough civilian housing to form dormitories for those regularly attending the facility.
   
2. Ensuring every Iraqi has clean water, a place to sleep, and food to eat.
3. Using technology to openly and regularly monitor Iraq government officials, police officers, and army members in order to keep the Iraqi people informed.

Dedicating our troops to offering safety zones for both themselves and the Iraqi youth would cut down on American casualties significantly, as well as create a new generation of Iraqis who will have a different perspective on life that those currently running that country. The single most glaring error the United States made after toppling Saddam was failing to offer this kind of substantial and immediate humanitarian aid Helping would have been the true American way.

Muslims are amazing people -- they are willing to die for what they believe is right. Had these actions been taken the day Saddam's statue fell, every time a militant Islamic killed a US serviceman the Iraq people would have said, "How can I help defend the Americans who have come to help us?"

Sadly, we let the militias do this job for us. Islamic Clerics feed, clothe, and protect the populace of Iraq. Children who were ten when we invaded Iraq are now fifteen, and these teens have known nothing of America but the failures of our policies and the greed of our businessmen. Is it any wonder that when militant Islamic clerics asks their teenage followers to go to war for them that the youth of Iraq jumps up and says, "I will happily die for you?"

Hitler's Youth have risen again -- except this time it is we who have created them.