Iraq Is Not Hopeless, But America’s Mission There Is
America stands today in Iraq, trying to direct traffic in a tsunami.
America stands today in Iraq, trying to direct traffic in a tsunami.
The 68% of American who think we should withdraw are probably as irrelevant as the remainder, who believe we will be ‘followed home’ by terrorists if we leave. The decision is no longer in our hands. The options are unpalatable; leave on a timetable and turn Iraq over to Iraqis, or leave when this administration leaves.
We have, each of us and all of us, taken positions and because of that, a rational view of what we have wrought is too clouded to judge—or admit—or both. On the Bush administration side, the United States has invested itself of infrastructure in Iraq as if we were a colonial power, taking over to stay for the foreseeable future.
The Defense Department is busily putting the finishing touches on fourteen major, long-term military bases at an ‘undisclosed’ cost that is billions rather than millions.
The State Department is building the large…