Teribus-

Fortunately for the American armed forces, General Petraeus radically changed the tactics used for putting down the Iraqi insurrection. He replaced the shoot on sight, call in air support when you're in difficulty, with hiring former militants to root out the more radical domestic elements and their foreign allies. Having the smarts to know who to hire and who not to hire has helped in a major way to make the surge a military success; our manpower and military hardware would never have been sufficient unless we were willing to slaughter every Iraqi man women and child, and that would have been an unacceptable victory.

With regard to the Somalis, I would hardly recommend what appears to be your preferred military response. Who was it who first said "If every problem were a nail, the hammer would be the solution"?

Understanding your enemy, his strengths and his weaknesses, is key to success.

Charley Noble