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aceventura3 · 07-24-2007, 04:12 AM

Here is a map of the ME:

I look at the map and see that Iraq is a high value military strategic location. I think it is important that Iraq have a government friendly and cooperative with us and our military.

You may not agree or like what this guy writes, but it is a view shared by many regarding the US strategy concerning Iraq, and its a source other than the White House or my point of view.

Quote:

n the aftermath of Desert Storm, three events transpired as follows.

* The Iraqi Army was expelled from Kuwait.
* Iraq was deprived of fatal weapons and its arsenal reduced, rendering it incapable of intimidating and threatening its neighbors.
* The United States signed a military treaty with Kuwait and assumed the position of Guardian of peace in the Middle East.

Prior to Desert Storm U. S. strategists considered two vital issues: how could the U.S. integrate the Middle East and especially the strategic Iraq within the global economy in New World Order, and by what means could the U.S. annex the Middle East and Iraq as integral parts of its global military strategy?

The first issue, the integration of the region in global economy is accomplished in the course of democratizing the region as done in Afghanistan and Iraq and carrying out U.S. regional policy that seeks to

* Keeping the sea lanes open for international trade.
* Maintaining the flow of oil at a reasonable price.
* Providing support for Israel and moderate Arab states.

The second issue, annexing Middle East and Iraq to U. S. global military strategy is achieved through the means pursued by the Administration to execute its global policy including the use of military power. So Desert Storm was neither an isolated event that did erupt randomly, nor a product of the hour. It was in fact a vital part of United States global defensive arrangements steadily elaborated to repel radical movements against the New World System.

The following are some of U. S. goals in the Region.

* Stationing of US troops in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
* The installation of a Headquarters in Qatar for the Central Command.
* A long-term responsibility to maintain the status-quo in post cold-war and to control and administer the New World system.

United States objectives in the Middle East are basically the same as well as the strategy and Its vital interests depends on political and social developments outside its borders and in the rest of the World, that have direct Impact on the living standards of the Americans. The United States; therefore, is

* Preserving the status-quo or the world capitalist system.
* Opposing the ideas that are not responsive to the new global strategies.
* Using coalitions as resolved by the United Nations to quell aggression and promote peace and the new economic regime.

U.S. troops are still in Iraq, which is, just like other states in the region, included within United States global strategy under the Central Command. The other states involved are Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Jordan, Israel, Iran, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen, and the Gulf states.

United States uses its military to:

* Secure the flow of oil and other energy resources to U.S. and the other industrialized nations.
* Explore new markets for its products.

and in the course of executing its new Global policy, It

* Protects small nations against aggression
* Support peaceful missions delegated by the United Nations.
* Combat terrorism
* Destroy weapons of mass destruction
* Repel fundamentalism

With regard to Iraq, the United States aims were destroying weapons of mass destruction and forcing it to abide by International Law United Nations resolutions.

The policy of Iraq under Saddam Hussein after the Gulf war was not satisfactory to the U.S, nor was it in conformity with the global economy. Notwithstanding, the United States pursued peaceful means to make Iraq comply with United Nations resolutions, including diplomacy, economic sanctions, political pressure, covert operations and finally, the last resort, military power.

The immediate United States objectives in Iraq are

* A democratic and secular regime to protect and defend individual freedoms and to guarantee the political rights of its nationalities mainly the Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, and Turkomans. The United States is already extending help to the Iraqi people in this respect.
* A peace-loving Iraq clear of weapons of mass-destruction; nuclear, biological, and chemical.
* A viable economy that provides jobs and employment to Iraqi citizens.

U. S. strategic objectives in Iraq are

* The annexation of Iraq to the global economy so U.S. can invest heavily in this oil-rich country.
* Including it under Central Command arrangements and promoting it as a vital political bastion of democracy in the region.

http://www.aina.org/guesteds/20050627100130.htm

And we have this from Al-Qaeda:

Quote:

Al-Qaeda’s Strategy

Al-Qaeda leaders have proclaimed Iraq a major front in their global terrorist campaign. This was made clear in a July 9, 2005, letter from Osama bin Laden’s chief lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to Abu Musab Zarqawi, who was then leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The letter was intercepted by coalition forces and subsequently published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which expressed the “highest confidence” in its authenticity. In the letter, Zawahiri underscored the centrality of the war in Iraq for the global jihad:

I want to be the first to congratulate you for what God has blessed you with in terms of fighting battle in the heart of the Islamic world, which was formerly the field for major battles in Islam’s history, and what is now the place for the greatest battle of Islam in this era…

Zawahiri cautioned Zarqawi to avoid the mistake that the Taliban made in Afghanistan of alienating the Afghan people, who joined the opposition and cooperated with U.S. forces to overthrow the Taliban. He reminded Zarqawi that al-Qaeda needs some semblance of popular support to realize its plans for Iraq once American forces are driven out:

The first stage: Expel the Americans from Iraq.

The second stage: Establish an Islamic authority or amirate, then develop it and support it until it achieves the level of a caliphate- over as much territory as you can to spread its power in Iraq, i.e., in Sunni areas, is in order to fill the void stemming from the departure of the Americans, immediately upon their exit and before un-Islamic forces attempt to fill this void, whether those whom the Americans will leave behind them, or those among the un-Islamic forces who will try to jump at taking power.

There is no doubt that this amirate will enter into a fierce struggle with the foreign infidel forces, and those supporting them among the local forces, to put it in a state of constant preoccupation with defending itself, to make it impossible for it to establish a stable state which could proclaim a caliphate, and to keep the Jihadist groups in a constant state of war, until these forces find a chance to annihilate them.

The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring Iraq.

The fourth stage: It may coincide with what came before: the clash with Israel, because Israel was established only to challenge any new Islamic entity.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Iraq/wm1210.cfm

I think we need to take a long-term view of this issue and recognize what needs to be done in order to have a more peaceful tomorrow. We either get the job done now or we do it later. Doing it now seems to be more efficient.