2008 Woodie Awards
Don't question the experts: To win in Iraq, U.S. troops must stay
Michael Roberts
Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: Opinion
General Petraeus and Ambassador-to-Iraq Ryan Crocker sat before the Armed Services Committee on the fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. The two sat answering questions about the war for hours and gave some interesting responses, some of which demonstrated that we truly do have some of America's best people working on the situation.
When it comes to the war in Iraq, many believe that if we are indeed making progress, it is going much too slowly. The idea that Iraq may be the next Vietnam has even been flung around in the past couple of years, and has been fueled even more by John McCain's comment that we may be in Iraq for 100 years.
Petraeus was asked what he believed about the Iraqi military situation and responded, "At the end of the day, let me just state upfront I absolutely support the principle of civilian control of the military. We're not self-employed in uniform. We take orders, and we follow them."
With the presidential election coming up people are also asking themselves what they would like to happen in the Iraq War. Obama wants to quickly withdraw the troops and completely get the United States out of the region.
Crocker was asked about what a troop withdrawal from a newly elected president might do and he responded by saying, "I talked about what some of those consequences could be, including a base in the Arab world for Al-Qaeda."
It's clear that these two men have the situation in Iraq well-grasped. Petraeus understands the type of war that we are fighting and the potential downfall of the region if we do fail. Crocker understands that a withdrawal and a failure in Iraq are pretty much synonymous, not to mention very bad for America and the Iraqi people (Al-Qaeda isn't good for anyone).
So what exactly would happen if we were to withdraw troops from Iraq immediately? Chaos would ensue. The three groups in Iraq that all want power - Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds - will do whatever is necessary to get that power. If you want to see an actual Iraqi civil war take place, simply remove the American troops that are keeping the peace and watch a potentially explosive situation finally explode.
When it comes to the war in Iraq, many believe that if we are indeed making progress, it is going much too slowly. The idea that Iraq may be the next Vietnam has even been flung around in the past couple of years, and has been fueled even more by John McCain's comment that we may be in Iraq for 100 years.
Petraeus was asked what he believed about the Iraqi military situation and responded, "At the end of the day, let me just state upfront I absolutely support the principle of civilian control of the military. We're not self-employed in uniform. We take orders, and we follow them."
With the presidential election coming up people are also asking themselves what they would like to happen in the Iraq War. Obama wants to quickly withdraw the troops and completely get the United States out of the region.
Crocker was asked about what a troop withdrawal from a newly elected president might do and he responded by saying, "I talked about what some of those consequences could be, including a base in the Arab world for Al-Qaeda."
It's clear that these two men have the situation in Iraq well-grasped. Petraeus understands the type of war that we are fighting and the potential downfall of the region if we do fail. Crocker understands that a withdrawal and a failure in Iraq are pretty much synonymous, not to mention very bad for America and the Iraqi people (Al-Qaeda isn't good for anyone).
So what exactly would happen if we were to withdraw troops from Iraq immediately? Chaos would ensue. The three groups in Iraq that all want power - Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds - will do whatever is necessary to get that power. If you want to see an actual Iraqi civil war take place, simply remove the American troops that are keeping the peace and watch a potentially explosive situation finally explode.
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Johnny Home
posted 4/15/08 @ 1:33 PM EST
How sad that the only conclusion drawn here is that we the people should continue to be accomplices to murder, torture and other crimes!
Whatever happens in Iraq, historically or in the future, is not at all a concern of the USA. (Continued…)
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