How many, How long
The United States has been at war in Iraq for over 3 years. Where are we? How many lives and how much treasure are we willing to expend to pacify a people that don’t want us. We have become a colonial power trying to subdue the natives so that we can impose our flavor of democracy on them. From my knowledge of history, no country was able to force a people into submission over long periods of time. Yes, people have been forced to submit, but they eventually seek freedom. Look to Russia as an example.
Our government is trying to impose our form of democracy on three groups of people that don’t want to be united. There is no basis for unity since they have different religions, and tribal relations. The only way the British were able to create Iraq was by force and occupation. Is the United States willing to become an occupying power? I don’t think so.
The question to ask is why are we there. Is it for the oil potential? If it is, we could eliminate the need for Iraq oil by conservation and increasing the gas mileage from our transportation system. We could convert coal into fuel. Is it to settle a political score? If it is, we have declared that we won the war. Lets move on. Is it to stop terrorism? If it is, we haven’t done a very good job, as most of the terrorists still are able to threaten and kill on their schedule.
Why is the administration continuing to lose lives and give away treasure? I think it is ego and afraid to admit that they made a mistake. They are using the war in Iraq as a tool for winning domestic elections by shifting the focus from the real problems in America such as lack of jobs and opportunity, poor education, illegal immigration, lack of competitive manufacturing capability, high cost of medical care; local communities, cities, and states having to assume the burden for the health and welfare of illegal immigrants when it is the responsibility of the federal government to control immigration.
My conclusion is that we should get out of Iraq as soon as our troops can be safely removed. We should let the people of Iraq decide on the form of government they want and should fund their country with the oil revenue that they are receiving.
