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Originally Posted by mixedmedia
But seriously, I don't think the opinion that we should pull together to find a workable solution to the quagmire in Iraq necessarily means being cheerleaders for Bush & co. I certainly am not. But I also believe that we have a vested interest in, no, I'm starting to hate that word - interest, we have a responsibility for the future of Iraq that we didn't have before. And it's not going to go away even if we pulled all of our troops out tomorrow. I'm of the opinion that "unilaterally" pulling our troops out of Iraq would be just as damaging to us and to our reputation as our invasion has been. And I'm not at all at ease with the idea of abandoning them to decades of intractable civil war. This shouldn't be an easy bit of mathematics for any liberal. It is not only an American "hot-button" political issue. To treat it like it is also a narcissistic exercise in one-dimensional navel-gazing. Don't get me wrong, I believe there should be debate and, fuck yes, passionate debate! But I also think people should strive to break free from their ideological and political constraints - often and with great courage.  |
Absolutely. I agree we have a moral obligation that requires something other than pulling out unilaterally, just not more of the same failed tactics and strategies. IMO, we should be working diplomatically much more aggressively and with much greater urgency to bring the regional powers (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and even Iran/Syria) in to create a "stabilizing force" under the auspices of the Arab League to replace US forces.
If we had skilled diplomats and not ideologues conducting our diplomacy, (ie, someone like Colin Powell who was fired for not being an ideologue), perhaps we could convince them that it is in the interest of every country in the region to remove the US face of occupation...and we can begin to draw down in the coming months as they take our place, with limited US forces to continue training the Iraqis.
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wise people know when to row and know when to talk.
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Wise people know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em
And btw, the Dems started hearings today. It was reasonable and respectful to wait for the President to present his "plan" as Commander in Chief, and the self-admitted person responsible for the failures to-date.