[Tuor of Gondolin]

While Elrond (or Gandalf?) dismissed the ocean
solution (presumably on the suggestion of
JRRT) it has some merits. Wouldn't Ulmo,
one of the most (the most?) committed to
Middle-earth vala, have had an interest in safeguarding it?

Another thought. If the "good guys" had gotten
control of Orthanc could it have been sealed there
(covering the top entrance with more orthanc rock
and barring windows with orthanc rock?

And there seems to be a strong element of natural
fractiousness among the bad guys (remember the
two orcs in Mordor thinking of the "good old days"
and musing on becoming freelancers after a bad guy win
against Gondor. But more fundamental is an underlying
philosophy that i see in Tolkien's Middle-earth that
Iluvatar would not permit a permanent Sauron taking
over Middle-earth (areas could be dominating, as in the
Second Age, but eventually there would be a redressing of
Middle-earth ills).

More later.