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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (151404)	11/10/2004 3:22:41 PM
From: cnyndwllr	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

Mike, re: WE are in iraq thats a fact. What would you do now, just leave, set an end date, ignore falujah and other areas not under our or iraqi govt control. First, I would acknowledge that our basic underlying assumptions about what makes Iraq and Iraqis function is terribly flawed. Our projections, our efforts and our alliances have, with the exception of our shaky alliance with Sistani, proven foolish. Second, I would take a look at the realities of our experience in Iraq and recognize that there is no "Iraqi freedom" to be fostered in propping up a government that cannot stand without the aid of massive air strikes, Cobra gunships, heavy artillery and foreign men in uniform. Third, I would look to the common denominator in our failure to win the hearts and minds of the vast majority of Iraqis; "Iraqis don't want to be governed by us, nor by the foreign Iraqi strong men we've appointed." In addition they will not recognize the validity of elections that they suspect, maybe rightly, will not be representative of their will. Fourth, I would recognize that the Kurds, the Sunnis and the Shiites may well have to undergo a civil war or split off into separate nations or enclaves in order to find peace and I would concede that there's nothing we can reasonably do to prevent it. Fifth, I would recognize that the true leadership of Iraq resides in the Clerics of the Shiites, the ex-Saddam elite and clerics of the Sunnis and in the Kurdish nation that has de facto existed for a decade. Sixth, since we cannot stand in the way of the real politics, real power and real forces that are working in Iraq then we must, as best we can, try to create bridges to those who wield that power and leadership in Iraq in order to maintain some influence with them after we've pulled out of Iraq. And that's the tricky part. In order to create such a bridge we must exit as quickly, as skillfully and with as little carnage as possible. That means we must, as you've suggested, make our intentions clear, set a timeline so that others can position themselves and adjust (some may flee), and allow a new equilibrium to begin to take form. It means we must allow other interested Arab nations to offer help or alternatives and give the world a chance to suggest and offer alternatives. It means we must allow time and opportunities for clerics, academics, tribal leaders, sheiks or others to suggest workable solutions for a post-American-presence Iraq. And our position should be one of "do no harm." That doesn't mean that we stand ready to "protect" Iraqis from the bloody changes that may take place in their country at the hands of other Iraqis, it doesn't mean that we must be their "policemen," and it may even be uglier than the carnage that's going on there today. But at least it will be their doing and history has taught us that, left alone, most societies over years or decades recover from such upheavals and find stability. In the meantime we should make it clear to all that if future Americans suffer at the hands of Iraqi nation, justice will be full and swift. As far as whether we should "ignore Falujah and other areas not under our or iraqi govt control," of course we should. They are not, will never be and have never been "under our control." Moving more troops into Fallujah, killing the innocent along with the guilty and then leaving our troops in front of their guns will not change that. Ed