Withdraw from Iraq

The American public and Congress were gulled into supporting our invasion of Iraq by the administration’s very many reports that Hussein’s Iraq constituted a WMD and, potentially, even a nuclear threat to the United States. After these reports were demonstrated to be false, it was successfully argued that the invasion had been so destructive that it was our responsibility to remain in Iraq in order to rebuild Iraq and to foster democracy there. Since that time, the level of essential services, e.g., the supply of electricity, have degraded, internecine warfare has increased, and there is no sign that the current Iraqi leadership can achieve the accommodation between Iraq’s ethnic and religious factions that is necessary for democracy. Far more important for us, in attempting to cope with the “insurgents” our government has forced our soldiers to commit criminal acts by adopting and concealing the use of torture as a standard interrogation tool.

It is time to acknowledge that our presence in Iraq continues to be destructive in almost every dimension. It is time for us to completely withdraw from Iraq, except for committing air and heavily armored forces to interdict the flow of arms and troops into Iraq. Our withdrawal can be expected to be followed by a civil war. However, a civil war can be no worse for the Iraqis than our continued presence. And, our withdrawal will end the ever increasing corruption of our courageous service men and women.