Should We Stay Or Should We Go Now?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Foreign Policy, WarThe Sunnis in Iraq are urging the U.S. to stick around for a while longer. The reason? Because things are progressing so smoothly in Iraq.
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 16 � As sectarian violence soars, many Sunni Arab political and religious leaders once staunchly opposed to the American presence here are now saying they need American troops to protect them from the rampages of Shiite militias and Shiite-run government forces.The pleas from the Sunni Arab leaders have been growing in intensity since an eruption of sectarian bloodletting in February, but they have reached a new pitch in recent days as Shiite militiamen have brazenly shot dead groups of Sunni civilians in broad daylight in Baghdad and other mixed areas of central Iraq.
The Sunnis also view the Americans as a “bulwark against Iranian actions here,� a senior American diplomat said. Sunni politicians have made their viewpoints known to the Americans through informal discussions in recent weeks.
So what to do? The left wants an immedate pullout, but now even the Sunnis are balking at that idea. Where does this put a guy like Murtha? We can’t just abandon these people, and while I don’t agree with labelling Murtha’s plan “cut and run”, after this current news how can we set any sort of timetable until the country is truly stabilized?
Another issues is that we need some honesty from the Bush administration about how things are going in Iraq. Now, we’re not going to get it because midterms are fast approaching, but if he would do the right thing, as oppposed to the “right” thing, maybe we could have a real dialogue about the war in this country.
My policy has been from the start that we shouldn’t have gone in there in the first place, but now that we’re there, we owe it to every Iraqi to stay put until the country calms down. Because as sectarian violence is showing us, this is not about the U.S. anymore. This is about the decades upon decades pf hatred these religious factions have for each other. Think that’s going to go away if we leave or get worse? My bet is on the latter.
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July 17th, 2006 at 10:40 am
…after this current news how can we set any sort of timetable until the country is truly stabilized?
If true stabilization is required before the US leaves Iraq, then I don’t think it will happen anytime soon. As you yourself note, “This is about the decades upon decades pf hatred these religious factions have for each other.” What is the US doing or planning to do that will erase the decades upon decades of hatred and lead to a stable Iraq? If you or anyone has an answer for that I would like to hear it.
July 17th, 2006 at 10:54 am
If it does get worse, can we at least recognize that it is becaue of Muslim extremists, and not Bush? We tend to overlook the responsibiltiy of the violence on the ones perpetrating it, simply because they are poor and are fighting with home-made weapons. Its like a little boy who darts out into the middle of the street to fetch his ball and gets hit by a truck. The boy caused the accident, not the truck, but we look to the driver for answers because the truck is so much bigger.
Bush’s biggest miscalculation was overestimating the human decency of modern Arab-Islamic culture; still, its the terrorists and militias doing all the bad stuff and America is trying to stop them, no matter how futile that effort may turn out to be.
July 17th, 2006 at 12:41 pm
I suggest that one should observe more and ask less. We’ve just handed over 1 province fully to the Iraqi government. 1 down, 17 to go. When all 17 are done as well, it’s time to go home and leave a skeleton crew for training and a tripwire for catastrophic emergencies like a foreign invasion. If the Iraqis don’t hand any provinces back over to us because they can’t handle it and we keep on handing provinces over to them, things are going well in Iraq no matter what it is saying on the evening news and in the papers.
There’s your success metric. You can look it up either through the MSM or directly via military sources on the ‘net. Let the chips fall where they may.
July 17th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
I like TM Lutas metric. Theres a difference between setting goals and setting a shot clock. America should set concreate, obtainable goals for the troops on the ground, and when they are achieved we move the troops back over the hill. America needs to be more ninja like, striking without being seen. Let locals run there own scene, and try to back up the central government when they need help. Iraq the Model had a good idea a couple weeks back. Start with the green zone and slowly take back the city one block at a time. Once you have a block, don’t give it back. Its the same strategy New York used on their subway system.
July 17th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
“decades upon decades of hatred these religious factions have for each other”
Exactly. Sunnis, Shiites, and don’t forget the Kurds. The thing is, we removed Saddam, and know these groups are fighting for the power that is now up for grabs.
I guess we have to stay, but which side to we “help.” Do we just try to keep all three (or four or five . . .) groups from fighting? I’m not all that familiar with these groups, but I’ve heard that it would be difficult to identify the victims and the bullies in this fight.
We did cause this because we set it in motion. It was a tough decision. Either leave Saddam in control, or take him out and start a civil war. And yes, I do think the results we are seeing should have easily been predicted given the history of this region. But, if we stay, what are we supposed to do?
July 17th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
110 years after the Spanish American War, we have a big base in Cuba (and not too long ago we had big bases in the Phillipines).
60 years after World War 2, we still have big bases in Germany, Japan, and Italy.
50 years after Korea, we still have big bases in South Korea.
20 years after Panama, we still have a big base in Panama.
15 years after Persian Gulf, we still have big bases in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and surrounds.
Why does everybody seem so convinced that we’ll be leaving Iraq any time soon?
History, people. Honestly, now.
The point of this post is not to argue for or against the war… frankly, I’m for our presence there. But I’m hoping for a little common sense in the arguments coming from both sides.