So you want out? Is that what your placard says? "Out of Iraq Now!" Big, bold and black. The spirit of your message is appropriate, if not for one word — "now." It's a nice gesture, really, this desire for our troops to come home. In fact, everyone agrees with you. Iraq, as a nation, wants American troops out. The troops themselves would probably respond well to such a notion. Even al-Qaida, that most disagreeable of groups, would agree with your sage advice. With such consensus, your sign seems to ask, why the intransigence? Your sagacity aside, however, you are either poorly informed or care little for the fate of Iraq and its neighbors. For an immediate, early, or soon-to-be American withdrawal from Iraq would be yet another mistake in a series of compounding and unfortunate mistakes we have made for the beleaguered nation of Iraq and the region at large.
A confrontation with the president? Good call. Opinion polls indicate no one likes him. Now is the perfect time for political posturing. And upon what better topic to posture than Iraq, the biggest issue of our time? Your call for our troops to come home before Iraq can stand on its own would be agreeable to all if it weren't for Iraq's inability to accept the democracy we have sought to force feed them.
It appears democracy does not agree with Iraq, something other Middle Eastern state leaders are certain to take note of. Syrian President Assad, presiding over his nation's pseudo-elections, will no doubt be nodding in the general direction of Iraq when pressed to make democratizing reforms. "You want democracy?" he'll be sure to say. "Well, Iraq's got your democracy in spades."
Iraq's tenuous hold on its quasi-democracy will break as soon as the last American boot leaves Iraqi soil, provided it is being worn by an American soldier. The current violence in Iraq, while indicative of things to come should our troops leave prematurely, will no doubt pale in comparison to the regional conflict an early American exit would spark.
Put your sign down, please. Cease your chants, dear war protester. Your command of the bullhorn is impressive but conversation is near impossible during its use. Instead, imagine if you will, an emboldened al-Qaida possessing the ultimate training ground. Critics argue the war in Iraq is strengthening al-Qaida's hand. However, effectively handing it over to the sectarian hatred, al-Qaida insurgents, Shiite and/or Sunni death squads and/or militias and Iranian designs will not be in our or Iraq's or the region's best interest.
Still you wave your placards, protesters? Deaf to my pleas? Perhaps you will trust the opinion of senior CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen. Bergen insists an American withdrawal in the face of an incomplete mission would be a major victory for global terrorism, and in particular, the disagreeable al-Qaida. Bergen claims the United States would be perceived worldwide as a paper tiger. Considering our position as a rather salient member of the larger international community, I'd rather we avoid such a misnomer. Or perhaps it is no misnomer? If uneducated sentiments like yours prevail, ours would be a nation of empty threats, a nation where tasks undertaken are unfortunately left undone.
It's not that your rhetoric is wholly flawed; it is only that pesky word and all it entails. The "now" of your protest implies an immediacy better suited for ventures of far less import. For if we were to leave with task unfinished or before the task is at the least somewhere close to completion, Iraq would become a terrorist Mecca on a scale not seen since al-Qaida's Taliban protectorate in Afghanistan. And we all know how well that worked out.
Too well.
Such a state, already rife with sectarian divisions and insurgent activity would no doubt attract the attention of nearby states. Imagine a Middle East where Shiite-dominated Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia square off in surrogate battlefield Iraq in a conflict unmediated by an American military presence. Imagine intense regional conflict in the world's largest oil-producing region. Imagine economy crippling gas prices that could be the end of American SUVs.
It's not that your suggestion is without merit. It's just that the whole "now" thing is just not doable. Were American troops to depart Iraq anytime soon, Iraq would be a broken, divided nation. Iraq is not like Vietnam, where opposing forces fought our own in order to unite a nation under one flag, albeit a Communist one. This is a conflict of division, and were we to leave now, Iraq will divide, and divide violently.
So, please, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, put down your sign and reign in your fellow House Democrats. A withdrawal before one is due is in no one's best interest, save those we originally set out to defeat. While this venture is flawed fundamentally, and we were duped into it under false pretenses, we cannot stop now. Making one mistake, after all, does not necessitate committing another.
Gerald Cox ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in economics and Middle Eastern studies.
