Exit Strategy

from www.LiberalSpinDoctors.Com

Congressmen, opinion journalists, and big thinkers of all stripes need to focus their energies on an exit from Iraq. Figuring out how George Bush* and friends bamboozled the country into condoning a long-term occupation and reconstruction of an Arab nation is important, but should wait for later. It’s no use accounting for all of the money, lives, political capital, and goodwill that has already been spent on this evolving disaster. Dwelling on the past is a waste of time, clouds the minds of the decision makers, and ensures more mistakes to come. From this point forward, what are the likely outcomes and how can America realize the most positive outcome with the least loss of life and the least expenditure of resources?

A Western-style democracy is not a likely outcome in a country that has never experienced democracy before, with a culture that few non-Arabs can even begin to understand. Complete chaos and civil war is much more possible. A non-Baathist regime, building on Iraq’s secular and women’s rights successes of the past is also possible and should be all that the United States expects to get out of this.

The one thing that everyone agrees on is that getting rid of Saddam and sons was positive. The exit strategy starts here. This material alone is enough to construct a shining sense of victory. Most would also agree that the relatively swift creation of a governing council was a positive development. Let’s turn all power over to the council and see what happens. Tell them and the world that the US military will be gone in six months. If, in that six-month timeframe, all hell breaks loose, American troops will be there to do something about it. If the council proves incapable of getting anything done, they’ll have themselves to blame. If a civil war erupts two months after US forces leave, then the Iraqis will simply have to deal with it in their own way. Would not the same power struggle have emerged had the Saddam Hussein regime simply vanished last year (a best-case scenario if there ever was one)?

It’s time to put recriminations and politics aside to decide how the United States can get out of Iraq quickly and relatively cleanly. No matter how much time, money, and effort is poured into the country, the long-term outcome is going to be the same.

Even if it takes 50 years. I don't give a shit how much it costs in terms of dollars or US troops lives, that's the price you pay to be a global empire.

The US cannot clean up this mess, because the occupation itself is the problem. Yes, we created the mess and we bear the responsibility for the problems created by our invasion. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to do the right thing.

Both our invasion and occupation are seen by the Islamic world (and most of the rest of the world for that matter) as an illegal act of war and a blatant attempt to gain control of the world's 2nd largest oil reserves. Our troops are a magnet for every jihadist eager at the opportunity to kill Americans. No amount of time will reward our efforts with anything but bloodshed and grief, for ourselves and the Iraqi people.

The right thing to do, the responsible thing, is to accept the help being offered by our erstwhile allies and give way to a United Nations mandate. This still does guarantee a peaceful transition to democracy in Iraq, but refusing to relinquish control will only perpetuate the violence.

Why isn't the public demanding this administration to explain how we plan to extricate ourselves? I think the article cited provides about the only possible option...all we can really do is set the table and provide a framework for letting the Iraqi's develop self-government....we can't graft or force feed a democratic government on this society.

Unfortunately this administration and the PNAC-cle club have deluded themselves with thier incestuous thinking...like everyone in the ME would welcome our occupation of their countries...right. They obviously spent way too much time thinking about how they'd divvy up the oil revenue and precious little on how to build stable a government in a post-Saddam Iraq. Idiots.

Is it supposed to be the job of the international community to follow the U.S.A. around and clean up their mess ad nauseum?...Nobody WANTED this lousy war, except George and his boys....They're all swimming in money....maybe they could pool their rescources and pay for what has to be done to mend things.==>edit: sarcasm

WE ARE THE SOURCE OF ALL THE MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS IN IRAQ TODAY. THE NOTION THAT THEY WILL BE WORSE OFF WITHOUT US IS PATENTLY ABSURD.

A violent power struggle was inevitable after we invaded them. We cannot prevent it. We can only prolong the misery and destruction by our presence. There is no avoiding it.

At the risk of repeating myself:

I do not accept the conclusion that: "Now that we have invaded Iraq, we cannot afford to let the place go to pieces." First of all, this is an unspoken and inherent chauvinism to this remark, akin to the salacious prude who believes only he can save the prostitute from herself or is it for himself? (Iraq is not Afghanistan- it has huge natural resources, a better educated population, and good natural lines of communication for international commerce.)

The most valuable principle our aspiring alternative leaders can learn in terms of failure, is that "sunk costs are no costs." The best way to terminate losses is stop what your doing and stop funding what your doing. The notion that Iraqis with a 500 year domestic supply of energy can't fund their own reconstruction is ridiculous. The first thing the greedy and inept American conquerors should do is get out of Iraq. After a short and brutal civil war, there will be a mad international rush of corporate bidders to restore Iraq's infrastructure. Then life will return to normal.

Therefore the solution is to get out and give the Iraqis control over their own resources. But of course, this is exactly what we don't want. Their resources belong to Cheny and Rumsfeldt corporate cronies now.