Iraqwar

Iraq What Now

It is over a year since I last posted about the state of the war. My last post predated the surge and that has certainly made a differences. Looking back there can be no question that the invasion of Iraq was a tremendous mistake. The cost to America, in lives treasure and world standing is immeasurable. However, to quote Colin Powell, you break it you own it. We came and once we did, we have the moral obligations to try to put it together. It is clear that until the surge began we really did not have a strategy for putting humpty dumpy back together. It is not clear that the surge will prevail in the end, but as long as it continues to show signs of success we have the moral obligation to continue, even if in reality we cannot afford to.

Bush Speech

President Bush spoke to the American people tonight and announced an increase in American troops in Iraq. He announced that another 20,000 troops would go to Baghdad, and another 4,000 would go to Anbar Province.

President Bush is caught between a rock and hard place. Unfortunately President Bush is right that a failure in Iraq is a disaster for the United States. The problem is that everything that President Bush is suggesting is too little too late. If we would have had more manpower and a more effective civil administration two or three years ago maybe it would have worked. But now? After the chaos of the last three years? Does anyone think that 20,000 troops will be enough- 200,000 maybe. Does anyone think that the Shiites, heavily influenced by Iran, on the cusp of victory will suddenly become magnanimous? It’s very hard to contemplate defeat, but is sending more troops in harms way the solution.

3000 Americans Dead

Two very different milestones were reached in Iraq over New Years weekend. On one hand Saddam Hussein was hung, and the 3000th American soldier died while serving in Iraq. There can be no question that Hussein was an evil dictator who deserved to be executed. The timing and venue of his execution were in fact a statement to the terrible state of the country. It was carried out in secrecy in the middle of the night-on a day when executions were banned by the Iraqi constitution and with the hangman not crying out for a free Iraq but instead invoking the name of the most malicious militia leaders as they executed Saddam.
This same weekend it was announced that the 3000th US soldier died in Iraq. What senseless deaths. Our brave young soldiers are dying due to the errors of the policymakers in Washington. Never even in the bleakest moments of the Vietnam War did our situation seem so bleak. Throughout that was we had true allies in the South Vietnamese- sure many were corrupt, some self-serving and some incompetent- but they were our allies they wished for the same outcome as we did-and despite setbacks until close to the very end it was never hopeless. In Iraq with the exception of the Kurds, we have no idea who are allies are, and if there were any, are there any left. We are attacked by all sides and have no strategy on how to achieve any significant goals. We do not even know what those goals are at moment. The only country that is gaining is Iran a member of the “Access of Evil,” Or soldiers are dying needless deaths and our army and Marines are being ground down as they have been ever more over extended. It is true as President Bush states that if we pull out, it will be seen as a victory to the terrorist, Unfortunately we handed the haters of America including Iran a huge victory the minute we invaded Iraq. We have lost. Maybe it could have been different with better planning and forethought. Or maybe it was mission impossible from the start. But either way it is a stunning strategic defeat, and we are a country that does not like to be defeated. The time however, has come to admit defeat and find alternative strategies to rebuild American influence and power. This may not be possible until the Administration that had brought such a disaster on us completes its term and moves out of office- but in the meantime what justifies the deaths of our soldiers? What will be better next week then this week? The only thing we know is that next week there will be more grieving families in the United States, more widows more children who will grow up without there fathers or maybe mothers. War is cruel and freedom does not come without a price- and our soldiers and the nation must be ready to pay the ultimate price for freedom- but not for a continued folly that can bring nothing but more pain and suffering.

Collin Powell was right you break it you own it- we broke the terrible dictator that held Iraq together and as 2007 begins he is no longer of this earth, but we cannot put it back together- if there was a way we could we would be morally required to stay but we cannot due what is impossible. Our leaders will have to face the cruel judgment of history for their follies that have cost so many so much- but for the moment for the sake of the families lets bring this to as swift and end as we can.

Four the past few months I have worked on writing our section on the Iraq War for our historycentral.com website. I cannot say I did any original research. No memos uncovered, no special interviews, just slogging through years of newspaper articles department of Defense releases and books such as Cobra II. It has been a very depressing experience. I have learned nothing earth shattering that I did not already know. However, the weight of reading the day-to-day events in Iraq has been heavy. I supported the war. I first bough the arguments that Saddam had weapons of Mass Destruction, then I bought the arguments put forth most eloquently by columnist Thomas Friedman on the need to transform Iraq and through that to transform the Arab world.

I realized early on that many mistakes were made in the conduct of the War primarily in not sending nearly the number of troops required to secure the streets not to mention the borders. I still believe until recently that maybe the mistakes could be overcome, maybe it would work out in the end. As I have revisited the events of the last three and a half years, it has become clear that this has been a fool’s errand from the start. The concept that we would be able to transform a country with repressed ethnic tensions and religious conflict in an age of a rise in Islamic extremism was never realistic.

The problem is what do we do now? I frankly do know Colin Powell is quoted as having said, “You break it you fix it”. We have been trying to fix it for the last three years and have not been successful. I have no idea what are next steps should be and am glad I do not shoulder the responsibility to implement them. What I know is that every day I receive E-mail from the Department of Defense notifying me and the American people of another death(s) and every day I think of the mothers and fathers, husbands and wives who have lost what is most dear to them. I have no solution but we need one desperately.