First Beat 'Em, Then Join 'Em

This explains my own theory of the Iraq War aftermath quite well.

Shock and awe has to include the elimination of the enemy as well as their key infrastructure; it's not enough to simply speed to hold objectives. The problem with the Iraqi people is they didn't feel beaten. When the Nazis and Japanese looked around and saw smoking rubble horizon-to-horizon, they KNEW they were beaten.

Having a bunch of American troops show up one morning handing out candy bars doesn't exactly quell the will of the bad guys to fight.

Moreover, until we start pounding the bloody turds out of Iran and Syria the insurgency will never end---these two countries produce plenty of surplus, poorly-educated fanatics to export into Iraq.