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Bush’s isolation on Iraq War highlights need for withdrawal

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by Ben White

Monday, November 26, 2007

High atop his perch, the most powerful man in the world sits by his lonesome. Things were different in March of 2003 for President George W. Bush. An enthusiastic president riding the emotion and energy of a nation pleased with his victorious overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan, he vowed to continue his fight, and he had the support. Four years later, however, things look depressingly different in his fight to democratize the chaotic nation of Iraq.

Mr. Bush was the leader of a vast contingent of nations prepared to assume a battle that had once been deemed ill-advised. Presently, however, as the effort has gone catastrophically astray, his support has completely deteriorated. Beginning in 2004, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Thailand, Spain, New Zealand and the Philippines all withdrew their forces. Support further eroded in 2005 when Hungary, Portugal, Singapore, Norway, Ukraine and the Netherlands all announced their respective troop withdrawals. Since then the nations of Slovakia, Latvia, Japan and Italy have come to the common understanding that this war is one wrought with failure and their troops must be pulled out of harm's way.

We must learn this lesson; it is one most of the world has already accepted. That includes new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who last week announced Poland's withdrawal of their 900 remaining troops by the end of the year. South Korea, a loyal U.S. ally, has announced its plan to remove its last 1,200 troops by year's end. Perhaps the strongest partner in this war, the United Kingdom — which committed 40,000 troops in March 2003, a figure that has dropped to 5,000 — has decided to withdraw half of its remaining troops in the near future.

However, the last straw came last week. Long-time Bush and Iraq war supporter Prime Minister John Howard of Australia saw his Conservative Party voted out of power in favor of the Labor Party and its leader Kevin Rudd. Mr. Rudd wasted no time announcing that he will withdraw every last Australian troop in Iraq. With the ouster of Tony Blair in England, Mr. Howard was the last man.

Tenacity and perseverance are traits necessary for the sole resident of the Oval Office, but when this characteristic begets stubbornness in opposition to the actions of rest of the world, a problem arises. What Mr. Bush must now understand is not only is this war un-winnable, but it is also is one he would have to pursue by himself. He would be advancing a conflict that has been abandoned by virtually every other country. This is something that Mr. Bush cannot do. He must align himself with those who once aligned with him; he must withdraw his troops.

To emphasize this position of solitude, one must not only look at the actions of other states, but at the individuals who have sat down and planned the war with him personally. Few, if any, remain. Mr. Bush began this war with the aid of Donald Rumsfeld as the secretary of defense, Colin Powell as the secretary of state, Ari Fleischer as White House press secretary, Richard Clarke as his chief adviser on terrorism on the National Security Council, Paul Wolfowitz as his deputy secretary of defense, and Jay Garner and Paul Bremer as the orchestrators of the Coalition Provisional Authority in charge of rebuilding Iraq post-invasion. Every single person mentioned above had a vital role in the organization, preparation, or implementation of Bush's war strategy in Iraq; all of them, one way or another, have since left the Bush administration.

Yet perhaps the most important group to have truly left Mr. Bush out at sea is the American people themselves. The most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll asked Americans whether they approved of what their president was doing in Iraq. Close to 70 percent said "No." Our president is locked inside an empty room with a failed war resting on his shoulders. Someone must knock on that door, tell him that the world has withdrawn their commitment, that his administration has folded in front of him and the American people want out. Something tells me the President Bush of the past seven years would not listen, but when a man stands alone with his legacy in front of him, he can be persuaded to join the others and end the tragic mistake that he began.

Ben White (bwhite2@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in political science and sociology.

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Anonymous (November 26, 2007 @ 7:03pm):

Poland not to reduce troops in Afghanistan

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6305747.html

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