Post #27

Three options concerning Iraq, more thoughts:

As always, the question is “Where do we go from here?” In post #1 and repeated in other posts, I said three options – my additions in [brackets]….

1. Win the war. I opposed the diversion into Iraq to begin with, but it is/was winnable. Bush has lost it and probably cannot win it at this point.

[Ummm, well, why did I oppose the diversion into Iraq to begin with? We hadn’t finished in Afghanistan, and, as I feared, resources for our Afghanistan mission were diverted. I consider our mission in Afghanistan to be justifiable, an appropriate use of our military force. “To make no distinction between terrorists organization and the governments that harbor them.” – yes! Iraq was a mistake. There was no Al-Qaeda in Iraq… until our invasion. The idea of “pre-emptive war” – well, in Bob Woodward’s State of Denial, reading the account of General ‘Spider’ Marks and his inability to get a straight answer as to what to look for in the way of WMD, makes it clear that Washington did not really buy the WMD argument itself. So, it comes down to getting rid of Saddam and hoping something positive would bloom – in other words, spreading democracy at gunpoint. That has never worked – why did they think it would now? Iraq is not winnable.]

2. Stay the course. More lying, more dying as Bush prays for a miracle.

[Iraq is not winnable. I know I’ve recently been infatuated with more troops and greater effort. But I’m now thinking Iraq is not winnable –– no matter how much money, no matter how many lives, no matter how many years, we will leave… as occupiers, not democracy’s champion.]

3. Withdrawal. I personally favor #1, but, as that option gets farther and farther away, I favor #3. I find #2 to be morally reprehensible.

[I saw on TV the other day a “talking head” ask somebody who was in favor of an immediate withdrawal – forget whom [blush] – about the potential problems of withdrawal. He said “We’ll see.” In other words, it is better to leave now and face the consequences now than to leave in, say, 10 years and face what definitely will be even worse consequences. And, yes, we will be leaving at some point.]

Well, #1 is wrong – a false choice #2 is morally reprehensible. #3 – let’s just declare victory and come home….