Posted by
Chris Travers on Saturday, January 06, 2007 1:17:51 PM
In my last post I talked about changing my mind and supporting a controlled withdrawal from Iraq. At least one individual has suggested that I don't have faith in our nation's military which is by most accounts, not only the most powerful, but also the most capable in the world. The problem I see though is not a military problem but a political one.
Our men and women are dying in Iraq because of our obligation, after the fall of Saddam, to help provide the opportunity for the Iraqi people to build a better government which can defend and sustain itself, uniting Iraq under a banner that is inclusive of all Iraqis. Our military is there to give them this opportunity. But as you can lead a horse to water, you can't make him drink. It therefore makes little sense to me to have our forces engage in a conflict that is unwinnable not due to any military fact but due to our ally, the Iraqi government being structured in a way that prevents this from happening. In the US, it took at least two tries to come up with a Constitution that early American revolutionaries could back, so we ought not to rush the Constitutional process in Iraq.
The process in Iraq is made more complicated by the fact that Saddam exploited deep divisions between various groups in Iraq to deflect violence away from his regime. Before the war, Saddam began passing out weapons to anyone who wanted them according to the BBC, and thus we have found ourselves in the middle of a heavily armed population with deep hostility between various groups. Most are willing to put aside clan animosities in order to either oppose the Sunnis or the current government and the US together. However, we have to assume that in the absense of a stable and inclusive government in Iraq, total anarchy will ensure for a long time to come.
The current Iraqi government includes at least two individuals who have private sectarian armies, and these armies (the Madhi Army and the Badr Brigades) have been implicated in a great number of the extra-judicial ("death-squad") killings in Iraq. These death-squad killings are almost always sectarian in nature, and have no place in an Iraq that is inclusive to Kurds and Shiited and Sunni Arabs. We cannot afford to continue to have our brave men and women give their lives for those who are making the problem worse. In short, the current government of Iraq is no less a terrorist organization than are the insurgents and we need to recognize this. Our military ought not be in Iraq just to let the Iraqi government make us target practice for terrorists.
Until the execution of Saddam, I believed that al'Maliki was not involved in fomenting the sectarian strife, but since that time, it has become clear that he is largely in the pocket of al'Saldr. I can only think that the timing of Saddam's execution, obviously chosen in order to send a clear sectarian message, must have been demanded by al'Sadr. Shame on al'Maliki for going along with this!
We have really two options other than "stay the course" (which is morally reprehensible for the reasons I have noted above). The first is to make a controlled withdrawal in such a way as to avoid emboldening Salifi militants. THis course of action was outlined in my last post.
However, it is still possible to fight the war in Iraq if people want to see American troops make a difference. While I do not believe that most Americans have the stomach for what needs to be done, I do not believe that it is unwinnable. If we are to prevail by ourselves in Iraq, the following needs to be done:
1) Push for a Hague indictment against those members of the Iraqi government involved in sectarian violence. Express a willingness to the Iraqi government to be the agents of arrest for al'Sadr and others who are involved. Yes, that includes al'Maliki.
2) Commit perhaps 100000 more troops to Iraq. Yes, this would mean the draft. Declare that all parties involved in sectarian violence will be considered enemies of the Iraqi people and that we will not take sides as we are doing now. Be willing to fight a multi-front war against the Madhi Army and other Shiite groups at the same time we fight against the Sunni insurgency.
3) Unambigously condemn the timing and manner of Saddam's execution.
4) Indicate that we are willing to allow the militias such as the Madhi Army or members of the Sunni insurgencies to integrate into multi-ethnic units of the Iraqi army.
5) Unambiguously announce that as soon as a stable peace is formed we will get out. Announce that we will neither seek nor accept long-term basing agreements in Iraq.