The Rand Corp recommended this in 2008 with Iraq and Afghanistan in hindsight, not in 2001 as America headed down the road. There is a key difference there worth noting;
Not at all. The military was well aware that we destroyed Iraq's military threat during the Persian Gulf war. And we enforced the sanctions against Iraq for the period between the Persian Gulf War and our invasion thereby preventing them from rebuilding their military capacity.
more importantly though, Rand is not suggesting what you are.
How so?
It claims that US efforts have been mislead, yes;
Check
It claims America's War on Terror strategy since 9/11 has failed, yes;
Check
but it doesn't claim the best route to victory would've been to send a few CIA agents in dark cloaks to parachute down and choke hold Osama, not ever and especially not from the beginning.
I never claimed that either.
That is an asinine statement that expresses political motivation instead of actual analysis
I would agree it was an asinine endeavor, but nonetheless it is what was recommended in the report by Cheney's Task Force entitled Strategic Energy Challenges For the 21st Century prior to the attack on the US by the Saudi Terrorists on 9/11:
"As the 21st century opens, the energy sector is in critical condition."
"
As it is, national solutions alone cannot work. Politicians still speak of U.S. energy independence, while the United States is importing more than half of its oil supplies and may soon for the first time become reliant on sources outside North America for substantial amounts of natural gas. More flexible environmental regulation and opening of more federal lands to drilling might slow but cannot stop this process. Dependence is so incredibly large, and growing so inexorably, that national autonomy is simply not a viable goal. In the global economy, it may not even be a desirable one."
"For the most part, U.S. international oil policy has relied on maintenance of free access to Middle East Gulf oil and free access for Gulf exports to world markets."
"Several key producing countries in these important areas remain closed to investment." (my note - this references Iraq nationalizing its oil and kicking big oil out 35 years before) "
A reopening of these areas to foreign investment could make a critical difference in providing surplus
supplies to markets in the coming decade."
"Over the past year, Iraq has effectively become a swing producer, turning its taps on and off when it has felt such action was in its strategic interest to do so."
"Under this scenario, the United States remains a prisoner of its energy dilemma, suffering on a recurring basis from the negative consequences of sporadic energy shortages. These consequences can include recession, social dislocation of the poorest Americans, and at the extremes,
a need for military intervention."
"
Providing adequate safeguards,
both at home and abroad, against energy supply disruptions and against manipulation of markets by any party, state or private."
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Then why was Al Zarqawi in Baghdad in 2002?
He didn't join al Qaeda until late 2004.
"Zarqawi opposed the presence of US and Western military forces in the Islamic world, as well as the West's support for and the existence of Israel.
In late 2004 he joined al-Qaeda, and pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden"
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saddam Hussein harbored horrible terrorists like Abu Nidal, and personally gave $25,000 to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. He was not an enemy of terrorism
Abu Nidal was active in Iraq when Reagan had Iraq removed from the Terrorist Nations listing. He died a year before we invaded Iraq.
Also most of the suicide bombers in Iraq were Saudis.
'Martyrs' In Iraq Mostly Saudis
Iraqbodycount.org: Between 100,000 and 150,000 killed
Added to the half million Iraqis that died due to the sanctions we pushed for and enforced.
But most importantly, You're missing the point. If you constantly favor instant results over delayed ones, you will not see long-term success. If you want to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs.
What long term success? The new corrupt regime we helped set up there and continue to protect with the most powerful military on the planet will fall as soon as we remove our military. 3/4 of a million Iraqis dead are a few more eggs than I cared to break to make Iraq safe for big oils return there that our war enabled.