Going forward, what should be our goals and strategy in Iraq?

[TXlib]

I think most of us here agree we made a mistake going into Iraq. I think the situation over now seems pretty close to the nightmare scenario some predicted before the war: that general insurgency would be the norm, not the exception, and that we would be forced into protracted urban combat. I don't think we can realistically expect a democracy remotely resembling our own to exist there once we leave.

I don't think we can, or should, just leave now. Leaving now would leave Iraq in a state of anarchy and lawlessness; Iraq would likely collapse into a bloody civil war, and the lack of rule of law would breed the kind of terrorist training camps we had to deal with in Afghanistan (I feel, also, that we've been neglecting Afghanistan, and what little news I've heard from there suggests that the Taliban is slowly regaining control).

Also, I feel we have a moral obligation to remain in Iraq until we have restored order, basic infrastructure, and a stable government. I think we will likely abandon the idea of a western-style democracy in favor of establishing a Saddam-lite who will align with US interests (or at least, not actively oppose them). This seems like a less-than-desirable solution. I can't even imagine what we might do over there that would work better.

Any ideas?

[wtmusic]

1. We should turn the country over to a UN peacekeeping force

and leave ASAP.

No strings.

[TXlib]

8. Can we even do that?

I thought the UN was staying away from this.

[livetohike]

2. "Have you considered the consequences?"

Isn't this what Woodward said that Colin Powell asked the President after learning of his determination to wage war in Iraq?

I'm afraid I don't have any solutions. I think Bush wants his mommy to comfort him and tell him that everything is going to be all right.

Bush has "opened the Gates of Hell". Now he has to deal with it, at least until Kerry is elected.

[sangh0]

3. Our #1 goal, IMO should be

to stop the US from establishing a permanent military presence in Iraq.

[bryant69]

4. What is your reasoning behind this goal

NOt saying I disagree with you, but I want to know why it would be a bad thing for us to have a military base in Iraq?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[sspiderjohn]

6. It's a bad idea to have a base in Iraq because the Iraqi's want us out.

And it's THEIR country.

[bryant69]

12. What all of them?

A poll taken in Iraq would reveal 100% of the people want us out? I'm not sure about that. Seems like a lot might want us there, at least for now.

[RoyGBiv]

5. CIA Headquarters

If what I've been reading is correct, it appears we'll turning Iraq into a massive CIA base.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-deadline7apr07,1,4645308.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Site requires registration, but this is from the article:

"A huge new U.S. Embassy will take the place of the current Coalition Provisional Authority, and the largest CIA station in the world will be in Baghdad."

My suspicion is that BushCo is wanting to get this all set up and running before the elections so that in the event he does lose, so much of the PNAC mission is in motion with a steady momentum that it would be hard, if not impossible, to just shut it off in a mere four years.

[Hamlette]

7. here's a thoughtful article on the subject

not really about getting out but about why we are there.

The real tragedy is that Bush sold us on Iraq for the wrong reasons. Had this argument been made (assuming the facts about 70,000 deaths is correct) at the time, I might have supported the war.

snip

If this was Vietnam - a country alternately incinerated and poisoned by the Americans - I would want the troops out. If this was occupied Palestine - a country reduced to sub-Saharan poverty by a cruel and futile Israeli occupation - I would want the troops out. Iraq is not Vietnam and it is not Palestine. After my week of wobbling, I have come to the conclusion that the only decent course is to keep supporting the clear majority of Iraqis: against Saddam, against Sadr and against killing Sadr, and against immediate troop withdrawal. And we must back the Iraqis in the biggest demand of all: a transition to real, full Iraqi democracy - and fast.

http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=378

[Devils Advocate NZ]

11. That guy is wrong.

I still can't figure out why people don't get this, but the fact is - if you turn Iraq into a democracy, they will vote it into a theocracy!

It's that effing simple. So all this talk about democracy in Iraq is just a con. There is, and will be no democracy in Iraq because the majority in Iraq don't want it.

If and when an election is held, if it doesn't go the way the majority want it to go, then you will have a civil war. If it DOES go their way, you will probably STILL have a civil war.

Think about it - the Shi'ites did NOTHING for over a year - waiting for their vote, knowing that when it comes they will win. However, as soon as one of the Shi'ite RELIGIOUS leaders was threatened by the US - BAM! an uprising that has killed more US troops than the actual invasion, and the US panicing - even resorting to calling in the Iranians!

The fact is, there will be no democracy in Iraq for generations at least. There will only be civil war and bloodshed on a level that will make Hussein look tame.

The only thing this war has done is turn Iraq into another Afghanistan. It is now up to the Iraqis to come to their own resolution because nothing enforced from the outside will work. The US should pull out, and leave them to it.

[Mountainman]

9. Turn it over to the UN and pull our troops out.

There is no reason more of our troops have to die defending Buah's mistake. We can support the UN with funds.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. If I were part of the UN

I would first demand that the US does everything it can to disarm all Iraqi citizens. No UN member country is going to want to go into a heavily armed country that now feels really pissed off. It's not the funds - it's the UN soldiers' lives.