Anyone disagree with this assessment (not mine) if we hightail it out of Iraq in the near future: The first military consequence, of course, would be the collapse of all American, international and Iraqi resistance to the terrorist jihadists and the various religiously-inspired militias who are even now slaughtering scores of their fellow Iraqis every day. "Civil war" is almost too dignified a term for the chaos into which Iraq would collapse. Eventually, various poles of political authority would emerge, no doubt supported financially and militarily by the various Islamic nations on Iraq's borders. These nations in turn, freed from any obligation to honor such concepts as "democracy" or even "liberty," would impose even worse tyrannies than those existing today on their own peoples, and the Middle East would become one vast cesspool of Islamic dictatorships, bent on expansion. Worse yet, America's reputation as a defender of freedom, let alone an honorable and formidable military power, would turn to mud. The terrorists, triumphant over having forced Uncle Sam to turn tail, would double or triple in size on short order, and train their sights on further terrorist victories in Europe -- and, of course, in the United States. Or do you think that, gratified by their success, Osama bin Laden and his allies would call off their jihad against the West and the Great Satan and go back to tending their goats?
this could be the best solution. maybe these people need a tyrant to control them. we never knew how good we had it when saddam kept things under control. democracy is probably not possible as long as people are under the superstition of islam as evidenced by the fact that there are almost no islamic democracies in the world today. if somehow we could turn these nations secular we might have a chance but i see no evidence that we want to do that. as far as OSBL goes i see no reason we couldnt keep trying to kill him even if we were not in iraq. last i heard he wasnt in iraq.
Not to be argumentative, but are you thus okay with leaving the country to tear itself apart upon our departure? Don't you think that the ensuing bloodbath is going to make Rwanda look like a playground dispute?
it doesn't have to be 'cut & run'... say America wins the peace in Iraq in the end, u guys wld withdraw eventually, just the same... what u want is an orderly process, and as long as its properly managed, and eventually leads to a more stable Iraq, then the islamist won't be able to paint it as 'cut & run'... question is how... well, an old idea is to involve other countries / organizations in the whole process of stopping the violence... countries / organizations the islamists can't easily stir up street violence against... these guys will be able to implement ink spots, then gradually restore safety on the roads etc... request wld need to come from iraqi authorities to security council, tacitly approved by religious leaders i guess... and america, this administration specifically, shld tone down the attitude... (i know, thats quite a crazed expectation, but hey, its either more body bags or more international cooperation at this stage... thought that point had been made a while back...)
Lord. Why did these assholes get us in this mess. Please help us to all find our way. With all humility, Amen.
how do you know the bloodbath would be worse than it is today? that is speculation. thousands are killed weekly now. left on their own they may come to a compromise. all great nations were born out of a struggle. your question assumes that we can ever win this struggle by staying. why could it not just as easily get worse the longer we stay?
"Cut and Run" or "Stay the Course" are of course, slogans produced by the right wings to frame an "all or nothing" "with us or against us" simplistic primate like thought process. When Dems explain their position is not cut and run, the Repubs don't even listen, as in their two dimensional mind, either you "stay the course" or "cut and run." No other option that might actually be a compromise of the two can even fit in their pea brains...their brains lock up when a new idea that is not Fox approved is even suggested...
just out of curiosity, what are the alternatives currently on the table from the main 'candidates'? in broad lines
these are just reported deaths. many slip under the radar. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/15/w...1fbf910f54ab2f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss An average of more than 110 Iraqis were killed each day in July, according to the figures. The total number of civilian deaths that month, 3,438, is a 9 percent increase over the tally in June and nearly double the toll in January.