Many opponents of the current strategy have said they want to change the current strategy. I'm not sure they even comprehend the current strategy, but the change that seems to be proposed is a return to the "pre surge" (sorry) position of placing US troops in secure Forward Operating bases in Iraq or Kuwait or Kurdish Iraq, and have they sally forth to chase al Qaeda. As an alternative strategy you have to aspect what the objective of such a strategy is. Is it a force protection strategy? How will this strategy separate al Qaeda from the people? Has anyone seen a coherent statement of what the proposed alternative strategy is suppose to accomplish?