The worst possible thing we could do at this point is withdraw from Iraq. That said, I fail to see how additional troops will accomplish anything if we continue with the current "strategy." I think it was Newt Gingrich who suggested that we establish something comparable to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC, that was established in our country during the Great Depression) to get the infrastructure/economy moving in Iraq. If we left it "as-is" the new government would last about, oh say, 1 day. It would result in chaos and conditions worse than during the reign of Hussein.
At this point we absolutely owe it to the Iraqi people to not leave until the country is stable. That would be the second time we abandoned them! Whether or not anyone believes we should have invaded in the first place is largely irrelevant now, and pulling out now would be immensely irresponsible and--in my opinion--shortsighted.
I think (hope) both Democrats and Republicans are "on board" for the idea of finding a progressive new strategy. This war is devaluing the dollar rapidly as we continue to finance the war with what is basically fake money. Of course, as costly as it is, premature withdrawal would be much worse in the long run.
The worst-case-scenario is that the Iraqis are simply NOT sociologically advanced enough to function as a democracy. They might require a civil war like we did. The problem is, if there is a civil war their neighbors will be pulled in (due to ethnic ties) and the region will become a scene of utter chaos. How long can we go without their oil? We are sadly dependent on it.
21 Dec 2006, 7:56 am
