Two weeks ago I discussed a conversation I had about the wisdom of withdrawing from Iraq. At the time I said I needed to consider it more, that I wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do.
I have thought about it a lot. I think that those that would have us stay have to bring much more to the table than the Bush Administration’s plan to hand over nominal sovereignty (and no power) on June 30 to an Iraqi government to be named later. That’s not serious, that’s stupidity. If we are serious about fostering democracy and stability in Iraq and the region then we need infinitely more than what is currently offered, which amounts to permanent occupation. I can’t see the sense in sending more troops (or even keeping those currently there in place indefinitely) when nobody who can/will make the decision in the U.S. (largely the Bush Administration) is talking about anything resembling reality. Forget an exit strategy, there appears to be no working strategy at all. Today’s New York Times has two Op Ed voices that argue for us to get out. Paul Krugman makes an elegant case, but it is Bob Herbert that I will quote:
“The sad truth about Iraq is that one year after President Bush gaudily proclaimed victory with his ‘Top Gun’ moment aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, we don’t know what we’re doing in Iraq. We don’t know where we’re heading. We don’t know how many troops it will take to get us there. And we don’t know how to get out.”
….
“Equally unsurprising is the erosion of support for the war among Americans. There’s no upside. Casualties are mounting daily and so are the financial costs, which have never been honestly acknowledged or budgeted.”
While I was opposed to going to war, I think I speak for the vast majority of Americans in wishing we could do good in Iraq now that we are there. But recent bad experience aside, I agree with Paul Krugman that the time we may have had to effect positive change has past. If we can no longer be a positive force in the region, then we should minimize our loss of life, and figure the least damaging way out.
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