Hendryk
Banned
A solution to the PR side-effects of a US occupation of Mecca and Medina might have been to outsource the job to a Muslim ally (Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, whatever) whether directly or through a UN framework (many UN "blue helmets" are Bangladeshi to begin with). The places have little strategic importance anyway; as long as US forces control Riyad, the oil fields and refineries, and the borders, the rest of the country need not see a single non-Muslim occupier.CalBear said:All invading the country would do is play directly into OBL hands. OBL is angling to get a Holy War started between the "Christian/Zionest West" and Islam. Occupying Mecca & Medina may be the only way to make this plan to work (even then I have my doubts).
Now I'm not saying a US occupation of Saudi Arabia would necessarily have achieved the intended result. But it definitely would have made a lot more sense than the invasion of Iraq, both in terms of a military response to 9/11, and for the purpose of fighting radical Islamism.