So many people are calling for the end of US troops in Iraq. I’m not just talking about powerhouse countries like France, either. I’m talking about American citizens who have had enough and are calling for the withdrawal of our soldiers. “Why isn’t President Bush working on a plan to pull out of Iraq?” so many people wonder.
The answer is easy – he doesn’t have to. No matter what decisions are made, we can’t just leave Iraq. For all the issues I have with President Bush, I stand by him in his claim that we cannot simply leave Iraq. Many anti-Bush politicians would have you believe we can get a plan together and pull out of the region in 12, 18, or maybe 24 months. But if we leave Iraq before a new democratic government is established and capable of supporting and defending itself, the region will fall prey to the same kinds of people who took over the government in Afghanistan after the Russians left the region. And those are the kinds of people who just want to kill all Americans.
Bush knows we can’t get out of Iraq in the next 12-24 months, which means no matter what he does, the next President has to clean up this mess. Yes, it’s a mess. Yes, we can’t get out. Yes, our troops are suffering because of this. But Bush cannot get our military out of the region before he leaves office. And trying to do so would likely result in more troop deaths than staying in Iraq and working to support the new government. So as much as I hate the phrase, I believe that the “Stay the course” mantra is the correct principle now.
If you go back to the first President Bush, you can find where he says he didn’t go all the way to Baghdad during the first Gulf War was because he wasn’t prepared to commit our troops to the region until a new government could be formed. He knew that taking out Hussein without working to establish a new non-anti-US government would just leave things worse than they already were. When Russia left Afghanistan, the Taliban took control, and I believe we all know how well that worked out for the US. The same situation exists in Iraq today, and anti-US hate mongers who crave power will work their way into power if we don’t make sure the government is established before we leave. The current President Bush knows this, and was willing to commit US troops to the region until peaceful government was in place.
Think carefully about what you are calling for before trying to speed up an American withdrawal from Iraq. Remember that those who would attack us are more patient than we are, and we only need to give them an opening to wiggle in to for them to start rebuilding anti-US efforts. The liberals don’t want you to think about this, because if you do, you’ll see through their “Pull out of Iraq” cries that they are using to build support for their party. But they know that we can’t just leave. And why more people aren’t pointing out this problem is beyond me.
[tags]Stuck in Iraq, The secret of Iraq the liberals don’t want you to know[/tags]