Time to Consider Iraq Withdrawal

[G_j]

(a convincing argument)

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/occupation/2004/0911withdrawal.htm

Time to Consider Iraq Withdrawal

Financial Times
September 11, 2004

This week a macabre milestone was passed in Iraq. More than 1,000 American soldiers have now been killed since the US-led invasion of the country began nearly 18 months ago. The overwhelming majority lost their lives after President George W. Bush declared major combat operations over in his now infamous "Mission Accomplished" photo-opportunity in May last year.

In that time, an unknown number of mostly civilian Iraqis, certainly not less than 10,000 and possibly three times that number, have perished, and hundreds more are dying each week. After an invasion and occupation that promised them freedom, Iraqis have seen their security evaporate, their state smashed and their country fragment into a lawless archipelago ruled by militias, bandits and kidnappers.

The transitional political process, designed to lead to constituent assembly and general elections next year, has been undermined because the nervous US-dominated occupation authority has insisted on hand-picking various permutations of interim Iraqi governors, mostly exiles or expatriates with no standing among their people. Whatever Iraqis thought about the Americans on their way in - and it was never what these emigré politicians told Washington they would be thinking - an overwhelming majority now views US forces as occupiers rather than liberators and wants them out.

The aftermath of a war won so quickly has been so utterly bungled, moreover, that the US is down to the last vestiges of its always exiguous allied support, at the time when Iraq needs every bit of help it can get. The occupation has lost control of big swathes of the country. Having decided that all those who lived and worked in Iraq under Saddam Hussein bore some degree of collective guilt, Washington's viceroys purged the country's armed forces, civil service and institutions to a degree that broke the back of the state, marginalised internal political forces, sidelined many with the skills to rebuild Iraq's services and utilities and, of course, fuelled an insurgency US forces have yet to identify accurately, let alone get to grips with.

..more..

[demnan]

1. Yeah

Now Kucinich ceases to seem like a idealist and starts to look like the smart guy.

"How do you ask a man to be the last one to Die for a mistake" to quote John Kerry.

[ixion]

2. "lawless archipelago ruled by militias, bandits and kidnappers"

sounds remarkably like Afghanistan, no? Anyone see a pattern emerging here?

Never in the history of the US has our government been under the rule of such thugs. Certainly we've had our bad pResidents, but this one really takes the cake, as it were. :grr:

[21winner]

3. Kerry has it explained.

Lets work hard for his election.

[G_j]

5. I'm with you on working hard for Kerry, however

withdrawing in 4 years is not an acceptable plan IMO.
Right now on the average two Americans are dying each day and god knows how many Iraqis.
multiply that by four?

[teryang]

4. The withdrawal should be swift

A protracted withdrawal will be more dangerous to our forces.

The group in power today has no intention of leaving. 2400 more reservists were called up last week.

[G_j]

6. kick

[Disturbed]

7. A new plan from the US Neo Fascists.

Bomb the cities into submission.

[newsfox]

8. ‘What’s the Worst That Could Happen?’

I'm new here, so this is as much mischief as I am allowed. I have many... MANY issues with George W. Bush. But, I have several articles on this subject at my blog. The latest of which is...

---

‘What’s the Worst That Could Happen?’

Okay. I’ll be the first to say it: WE ARE NOT WINNING the ‘War on Terror’ and WE ARE NOT WINNING the, well… whatever the hell it is we are trying to do in Iraq.

I say “whatever” because I still can’t keep track of all the reasons we invaded. I DO remember that, for 18 months or so before we invaded, every phrase on the news was either “Iraq” or “Weapons of Mass Destruction.”

But as for the “reason” Bush hijacked our National Guard troops and sent them to a hostile "country" in the 130-degree heat it’s been (in no particular order):

“Weapons of Mass Destruction”
“To establish a democracy in the Middle East”
“Iraq was a 'gathering threat'"
“To free the Iraqi people”
“So we won’t have to fight on our homeland”
“Because Saddam had a ‘weapons program’”

It’s odd to me that the Bush people portray their guy as “one who never wavers” when we haven’t heard the same story on our invasion of Iraq for two months straight yet...

More at: Cutto:

[G_j]

9. welcome to DU newsfox!

the beginning of your piece is good, though I haven't finished it yet.

[AlexHamilton]

10. Cut to...

You should check out Impeachment by the People at http://www.ibtp.org
I would love to post the entry above at our site. Contact me at
[email protected] if you want us to run your story.