Your thoughts on Iraq
"So, what do you think about the war in Iraq?"
People frequently ask me that question, or a variation of it. It's not an easy one to answer.
I feel that our pre-war intelligence was terribly flawed. I believe that our efforts during the first months of occupation after the initial fighting were badly planned. I think we misunderstood the depth of hatred between the Shiites and the Sunnis. And I don't see any real effort on the part of the Iraqis to develop a workable democratic government that will stem the violence the al Qaida terrorists and others are bent on creating.
I also feel our soldiers have performed valiently and brilliantly in Iraq. They have gone above and beyond. Based on the stories I've heard from soldiers, I believe most Iraqis want a country that is peaceful and prosperous, and that might occur if the terrorists leave. And I believe that if America pulls out of Iraq, it will be a catastrophe even worse than the current situation.
So those are some of my personal views.
Now, what do you think about the war in Iraq? My goal here is to create civil dialogue about the issue that will likely dominate the 2008 presidential election. It's also an issue critical to the lives of thousands of members of the military and their families on the Emerald Coast.
posted by Patrick Rice @ 1:30 PM
7 Comments
7 Comments:
...What you said.
I think too many people are too focused on the past, when that’s no longer relevant. The situation is what it is and pointing fingers and whining about what we should or shouldn’t have done last year or 4 years ago doesn’t matter. The question we have to answer now is where we go from here.
We can stay and try to stabilize the situation or we can leave and let the Iraqis deal with their nation and peoples. It may get much worse if we leave, and it may not get any better if we stay.
The northern part of the nation (where the Kurds control things) is a safe prosperous area and we should keep a sizeable force there to combat terror, gather intelligence and be prepared to respond to any situations in the region. We should then give the Iraqi government a clear picture of our expectations and a list of resources they can expect from us. They should be told when we expect them to take control and then it’ll be time to let the rest of the country sink or swim. The Kurds were very successful, hopefully the rest of the country can do the same. If not we operate from the northern part of Iraq and fight the terrorists from there.
I think we either take military action or we don’t, once the decision is made though as it was in this case, we have to see it through. Unfortunately we’ve reached a point where we’ve done everything we can and now it’s up to Iraqis, and others in the region to decide how they want to move forward.
Iraq was seriously flawed at the beginning. Bush kept pushing it and pushing it while the UN said "wait up a little. Let us find some evidence!" Instead of listening to the UN and taking the opportunity to keep our troop deployment lower, Bush was saying "screw you!" We not only were jerks to our allies, but we missed out on great opportunities to have them send soldiers so that we don't have to commit as many. They also wanted to help with reconstruction. We didn't let them. We could have negotiated some more troops from the deal. Also, it would have left more tax money for better projects.
There's no good answer. Someone compared Ulysses S Grant's situation to Iraq. Grant had to rebuild the American South, and got pressure to pull out. He did, and Blacks had 100 years of bad stuff happening. However, if we stay, the situation can become like Vietnam, where the seemingly endless war hits the nation hard. (Well, the huge difference is that we're blaming the guys in charge this time instead of the drafted soldiers, which is the right way to go.)
The overall War on Terror is frightening. We're tossing Geneva Conventions aside and making ways for the President to have total power in an emergency. One of the Bush Officials talked about taking alleged terror suspects and putting them into special camps. Did anyone watch Star Wars Episode 3? Does anyone remember 1930s Germany?
One thing that would help our reputation is to impeach Cheney. It would send a clear message to the White House and the World that we hold ourselves to the highest standards. It would show that we, Americans, disapprove of how the war was as well, and that we don't like how the Bush Administration used their power. The world will take notice. Democrats, grow some balls and stand up to the Bush Administration. We elected you for just that purpose.
I think it is all too sad that our very Democracy is at stake. It seems no matter what the people say or do, no one is stopping the President from continuing this ill advised war. And, the notion that to be against the war is somehow against our military is just Republican political operatives' talking points.
Our president and our country has done a huge disservice to our military.
The invasion of Iraq should never have happened; we should bring our troops out of harms way now; and President Bush and VP Cheney should be held accountable for the reasons they took our country into this situation.
They owe that accountability to every member of the Armed Forces and to the families of those who have been killed in this war.
Presidents conduct foreign policy and command the military. In 2004 the American people elected George Bush president because they wanted him to command the military and conduct foreign policy for four years, and that’s what he’s doing. He’s not obligated to act in accordance with the poll of the day, so he’s doing what America elected him to do.
After the invasion the polls showed 66% in favor of the invasion even with no WMDs, now they show the opposite. You people are fickle when it comes to polls, but presidents can’t be so fickle when leading.
It is absolutely fine to disagree with the war on terror, but it’s an outright lie to say “I support the troops” then vote against funding them in a combat zone.
Don’t forget the top intelligence person was a Clinton appointee, so if the reason we went into Iraq was wrong it’s the Clinton appointee that mislead the president and the nation. I don’t know how much more time the U.N. wanted, they had over a decade and were unsuccessful, so how much more time should we give them?
Those of you who want to compare the war on terror to a science fiction movie should beam back to reality and get a clue as to what’s going on in the world.
Iraq has become a terrible mistake begun by a person who apparently has no awareness of the world around him. We need to leave gracefully asap. From a military vet who does not go along with the vets here who claim they have some in on the info. Out here.Peace Vet
One of my last columns for the Daily News noted that by jumping into Iraq we were stepping into "desert quicksand" that would require 10 years for us to extricate ourselvess.
I sure haven't been proven wrong!
Mistakes galore on the part of unknowing - or uncaring - decisions at the top of our government created the mess we now find ourselves entwined in there.
Unfortunately, we are stuck with the reality that we can only withdraw incrementally (hopefully!!) over the next 4-5 years.
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