When the United States is engaged in conflict during a war, we usually have strong public support. It’s easy to support the troops when the nightly news discusses the several hundred enemy soldiers who have surrendered that day. Unfortunately, as we move into the second phase of armed conflict - rebuilding the invaded nation - public support usually wanes.

The United States is one of the few nation states in the history of the world that will invade a country, topple its leadership, and then rebuild the country with the intent of leaving it better than before we invaded. The problem is that our troops are masters at fighting, but they receive less training in the peacekeeping, nation-building role they are so often assigned once the war is over. For instance, look at Iraq. We are no longer fighting a conventional force; we are rebuilding and repelling guerrilla-terrorist attacks.

I think that many Americans will agree that we must stay the course in Iraq and finish the job of helping the Iraqi people create a stable government, preferably a secular democracy to assure the stability of the region. But what happens the next time we have trouble with a third-world country, say with Iran or North Korea? I would like to propose a new military strategy for future conflicts that, while problematic from the standpoint of spreading freedom, is very effective in protecting our interests abroad.

The Overlord Strategy is quite simple. Rather than invade with a conventional ground force to topple the government and encourage a democratic replacement government, we simply bomb strategic targets (we would of course attempt to find a diplomatic solution first). Iran and North Korea are both developing their nuclear programs, clearly with the intent of creating a nuclear bomb.

These rouge states are dangerous right now without nuclear capabilities, so when they get close to developing nuclear munitions, we bomb them. Right now, at the Pentagon, someone is writing up plans to invade both of these countries.  

But why should we even need to invade? With the Overlord Strategy we can simply bomb their nuclear research facilities and industrial centers where the weapons are being developed. This saves money and lives.

Some will argue that we should be spreading freedom, and while I agree somewhat, our military is overextended and exhausted.

After we get out of Iraq, we will need a decade or so to rest. By utilizing the Overlord Strategy to keep rouge nations in check, we can delay any invasions.

This strategy will be very effective, and though suggested several times throughout history, we are finally in a technological position to see it through. How do I know this strategy will be effective? Well look at Libya for instance; we bombed them in the back in the eighties and have not heard much since. €

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