Endless Iraq War? (8/14/2007)

President Bush’s Iraq war is in its 5th year, with no end in sight. Over 3,600 American soldiers have been killed and 28,000 have been wounded. 600,000 Iraqis have died since the invasion. The surge is not working. The Iraqi parliament has taken a month long vacation and Sunni members have quit, while our soldiers have no such options. The Iraq infrastructure has been destroyed, with power and water shortages worse than during Saddam’s reign. Educated and moneyed Iraqis have fled the country in droves, creating a leadership vacuum in business, education, medicine, and other critical fields.

The Iraq war has inflamed the whole Middle East. Iran has gained power, and Al-Qaeda has expanded. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been circling the world, with little diplomatic success, while American foreign relations continue to unravel. The recent Pew global opinion poll showed that, in 33 of 47 countries, a majority disliked American ideas about democracy. The survey also found a widespread perception that Washington acts without concern for other countries’ interests and that the U.S. does not live up to its own ideals and standards.

Nearly 70% of Americans oppose the war, and most think it has made us less safe from terrorism. In a May national New York Times/CBS News poll, two-thirds of military members and their families said things are going badly in Iraq; a majority said the U.S should not have invaded Iraq. No wonder military recruitment is down, despite offers of larger cash bonuses, fewer physical requirements, acceptance of more high school dropouts, and more waivers for recruits with criminal backgrounds. Desertions are way up. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that, even with the best scenario of an immediate and substantial troop reduction, this war will cost American taxpayers at least $1 trillion, with economic effects felt for at least 10 years. Yet Bush says we may have to keep our troops in Iraq for another decade!

Senator Hillary Clinton recently asked the Defense Department to tell the appropriate Congressional oversight committees the current contingency plans for future withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, and if no plans exist, why not. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman nastily replied that congressional oversight of contingency planning emboldens our enemies. Then Cheney chimed in with the same old nonsense of trying to impugn the patriotism of anyone who questions.

These snide remarks only confirm what many have come to believe: that the Bushies’ unnecessary war is the worst foreign catastrophe in our history, and they have no idea how to get out of this horror. They want to shove the problem and the blame onto the next administration. They have no Plan B if the surge fails, and probably no withdrawal plan. Our withdrawal from Vietnam took two years to plan and four years to implement as our military were removed in increments from 1969 to 1973. One Army official said that leaving Iraq is “going to be mind-boggling—like picking up Los Angeles and putting all the pieces somewhere else.” It will involve dismantling bases, disposing of hazardous waste and moving 200,000 troops and thousands of tons of equipment over broken roads and bridges while under attack.

- Judith Kohler

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