Democrats in Congress have been rallying behind proposed legislation to set a date on troop withdrawal from Iraq within the next year. That sounds like a a good plan, to establish a timetable for the war. Right? I'd say no.
The cause of the War in Iraq isn't as simple as people would like to make it out to be. It isnt just about oil, or WMD's (there are plenty of other countries known definitively to have Nukes) or revenge or conflicting ideologies and beliefs. Its a multudinal issue; there are many causes and it definitely is not black and white. With such a complex war being fought it is a false assumption that such a war can have a definitive simple end. Troop withdrawal won't end the War in Iraq it will merely intensify the fighting. The moment the United States makes any move to lessen its troop involvement and patrols the insurgents will rally together and the suicide bombings and terrorist attacks will skyrocket. Anyone who feels the desire to seize control of Iraq will attempt to grapple power out of the hands of the democratic government the US installed.
Think of the city of Falluja. During the past few years Falluja has been one of the bloodiest cities in Iraq. And when the United States Marines finally gained control of that city and were sent to areas in need of greater troop strength and the US Army took control of the city the attacks erupted and chaos once again ripped through the city. Then the Marines had to be called in once again to restore order. As soon as any sizeable amount of troops are moved away from any part of Iraq that region will be back to square one.
But how about this hypothetical troop withdrawal going through and we do remove a large part of our troop strength. If the US does withdraw troops and all the violence and attacks continue who do you think is going to get the blame for the instability and attacks? The terrorists? Fat chance. Its going to be the Good Ol' US of A. And that will be the greatest recruiting tool the terrorists could ask for. After all the attacks and violence the Iraqi people are going to want revenge and they are going to join terrorist groups and insurgencies in greater numbers than ever before. And then its going to be worse than before, an entire country will hate America and they will do anything to strike back.
This is the thing about democracy in the Middle East. It doesnt work. They are too culturally different. They are used to carrying around automatic weapons from the time they were ten years old. They are used to violence. Their different religious groups dont have any amount of tolerance for one another. The minute different religious sects get together their are violent conflicts. Why do you think there have been Totalitarian Governments in control for so long that rely on scare tactics and violence to rule? Its because that is what keeps the religious sects at bay and in line. Its the fact that the Iraqi people have been conditioned this way and many dont know how to react to the ability to have freedom they see it as an opportunity to make a power grab.
The US is in a Catch-22. If the US stays in Iraq it will continue to accumulate casualties everyday it occupies Iraq. And if the US leaves Iraq it will become a breeding ground for terror and will result in a civil war the US will be blamed for.
This is why a troop withdrawal wont work now or a year from now or perhaps even 5 years from now. A troop withdrawal is only going to lead to the largest civil war Iraq has seen in years. And we will be the ones the Iraqis people will blame. Remember before the US was in Iraq there was stability, not freedom but a certain amount of predictablity. Who is to say that a free life of instability and terror with the possibility of being killed is better than a stable but oppressed life of terror with the possibility of being killed?
How should we solve this then? That is the $400 Billion question isnt it.
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Good post. It is the 400 billion dollar question--perhaps more. But whatever is decided, troop withdrawal or troop fundage suspension IS NOT THE ANSWER.
"Many reasons for going to Iraq"--like what, having the right to police the world while not handling our own country's affairs that well?
Yes, a complete pullout would be a disaster, but as I've said before, we should just leave a few peacekeeping troops, and bring most of the troops back home.
I never said I agreed with going to war in Iraq. But at this point the right to go to war or ethical reasons not to have gone to war are irrelevant. What Iraq needs most basically is stability. How to get there is going to be a diffcult and dirty process not matter how you look at it.
Leaving a few troops behind is useless. Lets leave a handful of "Peacekeeping" Soldiers who are trained for War, in the midst of a meat grinder. Hope for the best, prepare for the best. Somehow I dont see that working.
"...we should just leave a few peacekeeping troops..."
Yes...and end up just like what happened in Rwanda and Mogadishu...thanks, Bill.
...would you tolerate another countries occupation of our territories or would you grab your gun and fight off the occupiers?
The situation in Iraq really isn't that difficult to wrap your head around. Lets support our troops by bringing them home.
How does that support our troops?
More importantly, do YOU support our troops over there?
The U.S. must find a way to train Iraqis to be able to support theirselves. Honestly, the Iraq disaster will grow if pullout occurs. If we all think we are seeing a crisis right now, we are wrong. That country, better yet that region, will not only be in turmoil, but unstable. I agree that something must be done, but withdrawal, I do not think so. To much time is wasted by the Democrats to go through with all these legislation, it just be vetoed by Bush. This is a waste of time.
First I'd just like to say that with this being one of the big debates in this country right now I expected a little bit more from the responses on this site. This is not merely a matter of supporting troops.
"And when the United States Marines finally gained control of that city and were sent to areas in need of greater troop strength and the US Army took control of the city the attacks erupted and chaos once again ripped through the city. Then the Marines had to be called in once again to restore order. As soon as any sizeable amount of troops are moved away from any part of Iraq that region will be back to square one."
Now, my problem with this statement (except for the fact that you started a sentence with "And") is that you've made it sound like more of an issue of "Which branch of the military is better." You basically say that Falluja fell apart again when the US Army took over where the Marines left off, insinuating that the US Marine Corps did a better job controlling Falluja than the US Army. This has nothing to do with your argument, really.
Then you say that a Democracy will not work in the Middle East. Well, isn't that at least one of the main reasons the US has troops over there? I mean, seriously, if it won't work, and you've deemed it so, why are they over there? What's you're argument again?
I think that troop with-drawl is a fantastic idea. I don't think that it will cause any more problems than have already been started there. There are tons of countries out there with problems, Iraq just happens to have a good supply of oil.
MM
Wait a minute! Democracy wont work in Iraq! You said it! Why are we there if it wont work? There is absolutely no reason for being there if democracy wont work! So we are pissing away American lives...for what? Nothing.
I am stating the facts. The Army is more of a force that is suppose to maintain security whereas the Marine Corps is an invasionary force. I think there is no comparison between Army training and Marine training as I know people who have gone through both and can see the difference. The point is though that, without a strong force to check opposition to the Iraqis Government the region inevitably destabilizes. Its going to be like this for a long time too.
"Its all very well in practice but it will never work in theory."
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/daimler
So what is your point?
Yeah...Army training and Marine training are different...what does that have to do with-drawl of troops?
No, I don't think that a democracy will work in Iraq. Yes, I think that the troops should be brought home.
...did you prove my point?
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"I'll be in my office...There's a lot of porn piling up on the internet...It doesn't just download itself!"
---Gregory House...My idol---
MM
My point is that a stronger force is necessary to maintain the peace in Iraq. When the stronger force is replaced with a weaker force, chaos reigns. This would be magnified by a US troop withdrawal because if the Army cannot maintain the peace, surely the Iraqis military cannot.
My point is this: A troop withdrawal will lead to greater hatred of the US for leaving Iraq in a state of chaos which will be deemed our fault even if it is the Iraqis or the insurgents fault. Conversely, leaving troops there is just going to increase casualties overtime and it is going to end up like Vietnam no matter how we try to avoid it.
If we really want to stay in Iraq I think we shouldnt tickle the insurgent's asses with feathers, we should commit hundreds of thousands more troops to get the job done and truly dessimate the insurgencies.
Or if we think leaving would be better, we should leave the day before yesterday.
My argument is that either way we should fully commit to the decision and not half ass it. I think that spreading democracy to Iraq is the biggest load of BS the government has tried to feed the public.
Also a side note: the Marine Corps is a more elite and efficient fighting force than the Army.
"Its all very well in practice but it will never work in theory."
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/daimler
The spreading of democracy in Iraq was absurd statement, but then again most people ate it up...Think of it this way, replace "troops" with "people's children" sounds horrible doesn't it? That is why most Americans demand the withdrawal of our troops. Oh yeah by the way, people all over the world already blame the United States for the chaos in Iraq. If anything the troops should be transferred to Afghanistan were the "War on Terror" actually began.