Why we must leave Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/09/04/ED276949.DTL

The American military occupation in Iraq looks ever more grim as the death toll rises and bombings such as the one at the Najaf mosque last week portend a phase of expanding violence. Increasingly, Americans are questioning the strategy, goals and methods of the Bush administration's handling of our nation's most extensive foreign intervention since Vietnam.

Hundreds of U.S. and British troops and untold thousands of Iraqis have died since March, while poor American planning has left Iraq with intermittent electricity, no phones, water shortages and a nearly complete breakdown of public order. Such basic failures guarantee an ever more hostile environment for occupiers, humanitarian workers and any Iraqis who assist them.

Millions of Americans publicly demonstrated against war and occupation. We warned that pre-emptive war based on exaggerations and deception of the American public destabilize Iraq and lead to a draining occupation, gross misspending of our national treasure and potentially serve as a recruiting ground and target gallery for all types of anti-American warriors. When we asked for genuine national debate about the consequences of war, Bush neocons, mainstream pundits and even Washington Democrats dismissed us as unrealistic and unrepresentative rabble.

It is too bad the voices of restraint were right.

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[ixion]

1. an excellent read

thanks for posting this, Don.

Ted expresses my beliefs about this tragic situation to a tee.

[Postman]

2. Lessons learned from Vietnam apparantly not learned.....

You never go to war when the public is not behind the effort. It's telling how the administration had to lie its way into invading Iraq in order for the American people to go along.

Now the chickens are coming home to roost. To which I say, here chick, chick, chick.

[MaverickX]

3. once again you're wrong....

We can't just pull out of Iraq and just let it erupt further into chaos. What do you far lefties hope to accomplish by doing this? Why do countries like Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan criticize the US for not doing enough to secure Iraq. Are you saying us pulling out will benefit that region? I guess you all know better than nations actually in the region.

[Karenina]

4. American *military/corporate presence in Iraq

is impotent in terms of affecting ANY positive outcome in the region.

[scarletwoman]

5. Obviously you didn't actually read the entire article before posting your

kneejerk dismissal of us "far lefties".

<snip>

Leaving Iraq won't be simple. The United States promised many things to many people. Sudden withdrawal could throw the Iraqi people from the frying pan into the fire. Yet U.S. occupiers have already blown a priceless opportunity to win the confidence of many ordinary Iraqis who were initially willing to believe that the clever new American rulers could provide them a better life. Now, with our credibility in tatters, common sense dictates that we must:

Leave Iraq sooner rather than later. The more swiftly we turn over responsibility for the job of rebuilding Iraq to an international body, the better. Rapid pullback from Iraq and handover of administrative authority to an international transition force does not represent the "retreat" before terror that Bush says will lead to more attacks on U.S. soil. Rather, it represents the best of the bad options left to us by the anti-democratic decisions of the Bush administration.

Contribute financially to both an international stabilization force and the urgent reconstruction of Iraq. An independent peacekeeping force will more likely succeed than one seen as an appendage of the U.S. occupation army.

If you're going to post a disagreement, at least base it on what is actually being proposed in the article, not on some assumption based on the title alone.

sw

[ddoumeche]

6. They are options

Leaving Iraq will happen very soon, as there are not enought troops to replace thoses currently deployed.
They are currently 300.000 jobless iraq soldiers (as well as 65% of the population, and the university won't open this year) who could do the job of securing the country, with a joint chief of staff.
And there are enought material (APC, small arms) in Iraq to team them.

[Terwilliger]

7. I think the nations in the region are quite sick of the US defining

their best interests...

now just what the fuck is your little cartoon supposed to mean? Do you even know?

[MaverickX]

10. why not?

Every nation's foreign policy should focus first on its national interests. My cartoon means whatever I want it to mean. It means I'm labeled a leftist just not the goofy leftist-libertarian types but the near socialist type.

[bpilgrim]

8. since he didn't just say that, it looks like YOU be wrong ;-)

he said we should turn it over to an international multilateral force NOT headed by US.

that makes a lot of sense to this peon...

peace

[MaverickX]

9. which international institution is

Volunteering to pick it up? International cooperation is a nice ideal but the UN can't run shit.

[DrWeird]

11. No! We need to leave!

We need to go back to southeast asia to prevent the global spread of communism!