How do we solve Iraqmire problem?
Posted : September 8, 2004 at 2:56 pm [America/Los_Angeles]
Source: NYTimes
WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 - As American military deaths in Iraq operations surpassed the 1,000 mark, top Pentagon officials said Tuesday that insurgents controlled important parts of central Iraq and that it was unclear when American and Iraqi forces would be able to secure those areas.
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Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a news conference that the American strategy in retaking rebel-held strongholds hinged on training and equipping Iraqi forces to take the lead.
Translation:
Since we can’t get more boots on the ground from our allies (cause we apparently knew better and decided it was ok to piss them off at every opportunity that we got), and we sure as hell can’t get more US boots on the ground (it’s election year), so we really don’t have much of a strategy. Let’s just sit tight and hope that these Iraqi soldiers are ready to fight these fights.
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But the record of the Iraqi security forces has not been inspiring, although some Iraqi forces fought well in Najaf, American officials said. While 95,000 soldiers have been trained and equipped up to American commanders’ satisfaction, General Myers said, they will not be ready until the end of the year to join American forces in any assault against insurgent strongholds and then keep the peace afterward.While U.S. forces or coalition forces can do just about anything we want to do, it makes a lot more sense that it be a sustained operation, one that can be sustained by Iraqi security
forces,” General Myers said. “By December, we’re going to have a substantial number of Iraqi security forces equipped, trained and led to conduct the kind of operations I was talking about.”
That’s a great idea General Myers. There’s only one problem. You know you would not have had to deal with any of this had there been a true UN-led coalition.
I can almost hear my critics say, “Yes, I understand we screwed up in alientating our allies. Let’s focus on the present. What do we do now?”. Well, here’s an idea:
Change the President. Change the Administration. Change the tone that US has had with its allies. We all live on the same planet. We need to peacefully co-exist and yes, we all need each other. Whatever reasons there might have been for invading Iraq (quashing imminent threat, WMDs, passing WMDs to terrorists, regime change), those have all been taken care of. The goal now is only one: Ensure Iraq does not become a failed state! Assuming Iraq is not some trophy for United States which comes with plenty of Oil too, this problem is just the kind of thing UN was built for.
A “genuine and respected leader” (not one that pretends to be one) of the Free World can knock on the doors of the World - Russia, France, Germany, India and other democracies of the world - and make a solid case that for the sake of “innocent Iraqi people”, Iraq needs our help and support. If done right with honesty and sincerity, these countries also know that it would be in their best interests too to help Iraq. A failed Iraq state especially with all those oil resources cannot be a good thing for any country. Set a timeline and transition the full control of maintaining law and order in Iraq to a UN-led Commander with a UN army until elections are held.
It’s not going to be easy to cede control of something for which more than 1000 American soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice, never mind the many whose lives will never be the same thanks to the injuries they suffered. Their valor and sacrifice will never be in vain. Certainly not by handing over the baton to a UN-led team.
I don’t think President Bush and his administration has the credibility to pull it off. Senator Kerry’s biggest advantage is that he is not George W. Bush. And, yes that in and of itself gives him a better chance of pulling us out off the Iraqmire!
Ofcourse, if this is about Iraqi oil, as some chicken-shit liberals (as they’re fondly called by their repug counterparts) would have us believe, I have nothing more to say except that I just wish that this country’s leadership had the guts to look into the eyes of the parents of these 1000 soldiers and say, “Your son or daughter died because we needed Iraq’s oil and we will not relent until WE CONTROL ALL OF IRAQ’S OIL!”
Thank you (or not), President Bush. We’ll take it from here!
- Anand
Category: United (or not) State of American Politics 2004