U.S. options in Iraq range from "unpleasant to unthinkable," and withdrawal still the best!

[ProSense]

IRAQ WAR

U.S. options in Iraq could soon narrow, ranging from unpleasant to unthinkable

By Warren P. Strobel
McClatchy Newspapers

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After more than four years of conflict in Iraq, analysts say, there aren't many options left.

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Here is a look at some of the American options:

STAYING THE COURSE

The president has never wavered from his belief that "failure is not an option" in Iraq, and he may well try to stick to that strategy for the rest of his tenure.

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WITHDRAWING THE TROOPS

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Since taking control of Congress in January, Democrats have pushed for a withdrawal timetable.

Bush warns that leaving Iraq now would create a haven for Islamic terrorists, who could destabilize the Arab world and seek to attack the United States. (Al-Qaida had no presence in Iraq under the late President Saddam Hussein before the March 2003 U.S. invasion.)

But Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said that threat is overblown.

"I don't accept that. I think that runs counterintuitive to everything I know about the people in the Middle East," Hagel said in May 8 speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. "The Sunnis and the Shias and the Kurds do not embrace al-Qaida. They do not support al-Qaida. They do not want al-Qaida running their country."

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"Sadly, at this point the best thing we can do is deliberately get out of there," said retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who led the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq.

Won't Iraq become a terrorist safe haven? "It probably will be. But you know what? We created this condition," said Batiste, arguing that it's more important to fix the Army and rethink U.S. counterterrorism strategy.

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Pollack, who was a supporter of overthrowing Saddam, said the Bush administration ignored all the risks of an invasion and assumed that the best-case scenarios would come to pass. Now, he warned, withdrawal supporters are making the same error.

"We shouldn't leave Iraq the same way we went into it," he said.

CONTAINING THE DAMAGE

If the United States decides it can't stop civil war in Iraq, an option short of withdrawal is to redeploy U.S. troops out of Iraq's cities and closer to its borders. There, they would provide haven for refugees fleeing the violence and try to stop foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq.

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Another option, supported by Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., and others, is to partition Iraq into zones for Sunni Muslims, Shiites and Kurds. The proposal hasn't won wide backing.

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Containment?

[ProSense]

1. Stryker losses in Iraq raise questions

Stryker losses in Iraq raise questions

By ROBERT H. REID and ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writers Sun May 13, 4:39 PM ET

BAGHDAD - A string of heavy losses from powerful roadside bombs has raised new questions about the vulnerability of the Stryker, the Army's troop-carrying vehicle hailed by supporters as the key to a leaner, more mobile force.

Since the Strykers went into action in violent Diyala province north of Baghdad two months ago, losses of the vehicles have been rising steadily, U.S. officials said.

A single infantry company in Diyala lost five Strykers this month in less than a week, according to soldiers familiar with the losses, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release the information. The overall number of Strykers lost recently is classified.

In one of the biggest hits, six American soldiers and a journalist were killed when a huge bomb exploded beneath their Stryker on May 6. It was the biggest one-day loss for the battalion in more than two years.

"We went for several months with no losses and were very proud of that," a senior Army official said in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to comment publicly. "Since then, there have been quite a few Stryker losses."

"They are learning how to defeat them," the Army official said of Iraqi insurgents.

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Unfrigginbelievable!

[personman]

2. So when does * start on "Unthinkable?"

Reminds me of what Bill Maher said about how the repug "you're fucking kidding me" candidate always seems to win.

Seems the "you're fucking kidding me" ideas are pretty popular over as well. (read: surge)

[krkaufman]

3. God I love Strobel & McClatchy...

Strobel kindly includes a little reminder in this paragraph, knowing that a large segment of the US population is still woefully misinformed.

Bush warns that leaving Iraq now would create a haven for Islamic terrorists, who could destabilize the Arab world and seek to attack the United States. (Al-Qaida had no presence in Iraq under the late President Saddam Hussein before the March 2003 U.S. invasion.)

Of course, given that al Qaeda are foreign fighters, it's very likely that Iraqi nationalists would purge them from the country once we left.