Why can't the US end the Occupation?

[Disturbed]

I don't see why the troops can't be sent home. Why do they need to stay there and keep the war going?

[bpilgrim]

1. oil

is a VITAL national resource and must be secured.

peace

[Davis_X_Machina]

2. Ego.

Polls.
Elections.
History.
oh,

and oil

[Poor Richard]

3. power vacuum

Iraq would devolve into civil war b/w the sunnis and the shiites and the other factions of warlord/dope growers. We cant just leave the Iraqi people to the mercy of the muslim theocratic wingnuts and armed warlords. That is basically what the russians did and we ended up with the Taliban

[molly]

5. Welcome to DU!!!

[Davis_X_Machina]

8. We're going to get an Iraq with...

..."civil war b/w the sunnis and the shiites and the other factions of warlord/dope growers" whether we stay or leave.

[izzie]

14. Yes ego and one of these wars we are going to win. Bush needs an arch.

Hay I am North and West of turnpike also.

[OneBlueSky]

4. now that the US has established a foothold in the region . . .

don't think for a minute that we're going to give it up . . . we're in Iraq for the l-o-o-o-o-o-n-g haul . . . already constructing permanent bases, I hear . . . and don't have any illusions that this will change if Kerry is elected . . . too much money (i.e. oil) at stake . . .

[LynzM]

6. Among other things

I believe that we have an international responsibility to not leave until they are stablized enough to govern themselves? Someone out there with some more details help me out, please!

[Aidoneus]

7. Why didn't Rome end its occupations?

[Davis_X_Machina]

9. Rome did -- when they cost too much.

Anything Rome kept was depopulated, then Romanized (Gaul), or so backwards that the material advantages Rome brought were sufficient to co-opt the locals.

We're not going to depopulate, then Americanize, Iraq.

And the material advantages we bring to Iraq aren't sufficient to co-opt the locals.

So we're outta there....

[Aidoneus]

11. Not willingly ended, of course

I expect nothing less here, on a far greater scale.

[chelsea0011]

10. Senator Levin on CNN this AM said he agrees deployment may be 10 years

Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sadiesworld]

12. Unfortunately, we will have a difficult time extricating ourselves from

this mess. Not only is a civil war b/t the Sunnis and Shiites likely, the Kurds will likely exert their independence causing problems with Turkey. There are also questions about whether Shiite fundamentalists will look to hardliners in Iran for support and/or whether terrorists will try to move in to the power vacuum.

I don't believe the answer is as easy as "stay or leave"

It is odd to me that so many people (including me) protested this war partially based upon an understanding that these scenarios were likely, yet now say that we can leave and pretend that they don't exist.

[G_j]

13. because people keep repeating the lie

that we need to continue the occupation until Iraq stabilizes, that without us things will plunge into anarchy and civil war.

We MUST go to the UN and beg if we must. We must get on our kness and apologise if that is what it takes. We must turn over control to the UN. There is no other way. The occupation is creating the very situation we say we must stay to 'fix'. The longer we stay the worse it will get.

the fog of war....

[Sparkly]

15. I agree we've got to go back to the UN

which presupposes a new president here -- one who hasn't blown every shred of credibility and proven himself to be an arrogant, greedy, unthinking chimp. The support was offered, IF we'd give up political control (oil). Naturally, * said no.

In that sense, I agree we cannot continue this occupation, but we can't leave, either. We went into the tinderbox and lit a match. I'm afraid we've adopted a new country, at extraordinary cost in lives and dollars, because it is now our responsibility.

It's already verging on civil war; so I don't understand the view that our leaving would not open the door to it. We'd be leaving the most powerless Iraqis completely vulnerable in the mess we've made.

[sadiesworld]

16. Why was "the difficulty stabilizing Iraq" a good reason not to invade...

but is now a lie?

BTW, I agree that the UN is critical (and giving up all financial interests) to any sort of reasonable resolution.