Quote:
| Why doesn't the US just pull out? What vital interests of the US are being protected by troops in Iraq today? |
i think there would be significant consequences if we were to withdraw now... iraq would most certainly become a failed state. there are multiple ways it could happen - terrorists, al-sadr, civil war... failed states and lands in conflict are breeding grounds for terrorists. of course, some see this as the inevitable outcome. personally, i tend to agree with that viewpoint (although i'd rather not). the other part of me acknowledges that this mess is our country's fault, and domestically it's solely the bush administration's fault. to just up and run would represent irresponsibility on a massive scale.
i wish i could think of a way to get additional support. frankly, i think the opportunity for that was there right after the war. but bush decided to play politics with reconstruction contracts, so he totally killed that possibility. and now, who in their right mind would want to participate in this nonsense??? (and who'd want to form a partnership with a jackass like bush?)
a while back, i posted a thread about the handover of power that happened in june/july.. with all of our soldiers on the ground, i asked when this symbolic power transfer was done - what exactly would be different in iraq? would american troops no longer patrol the streets in tanks? would they no longer act on their own, in typical heavy handed fashion? would the iraqi government be seen as remotely legitimate? in my pessimism, i didn't think the handover would have any positive result, and unfortunately, i was completely right.
right now, i'd like to see a much greater role played by the u.n... and i want to see these reconstruction contracts shredded and replaced with a legal bidding process. if companies from other countries win contracts, we might be able to work out a deal where their host countries send a complement of troops along with them. hopeful thinking obviously, but i don't think that abruptly leaving iraq will serve our national interests.
and in today's news:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/17/us.iraq.i...ntel/index.html Quote:
| The Bush administration, however, continues to argue publicly the U.S. is making good progress in Iraq, with the President saying Thursday that "freedom is on the march" in Iraq, citing scheduled elections in January next year. |
Quote:
| "I think that anybody that thinks that you can hold elections in the Sunni Triangle by the end of January is really smoking something," military historian Frank Fukuyama said. |
maybe he is.....