Why didn't Saruman kill the Ents himself?

[Andsigil]

Originally Posted by Smaug The Golden

Recently I've been thinking about Saruman's military strategy during the War of The Ring. I've been pondering certain things about it and want to hear some other's thoughts.

I wrote a couple of things in this thread about Saruman as a military commander:
http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=16451

In a nutshell: being a Maia and having lived a long time doesn't make one a good commander. Saruman showed a lack of sound strategic thinking in terms of simplicity and objective. Just as his name, Curunir, could suggest, he may have been a bit too cunning/elegant/nuanced/clever for his own good.