wenBLOG

From the first day of the war, I was skeptical about our reasons for invading Iraq.  Having said that, I fully supported the president and our military in the operation to remove Saddam Hussein and bring democracy to the Iraqi people.  Since that time I have been a consistent proponent of our country’s activities in the Middle East - not because I believed in the reasons for going to war, but because our country was responsible for the breaking down of a system (albeit a bad one) of government and it was our responsibility to fix what we had broken.

I still believe that we have a responsibility to the people of Iraq - we made a mess, and we must clean it up.  But I have sadly come to the conclusion that to clean up our mess, we must find a way other than doing so on the ground in Iraq.

I’ve come to this conclusion not based on the winning or losing of a war.  I’ve come to this conclusion because it is apparent that whether our military is occupying the streets and neighborhoods, or protectively huddled down in perceived safe zones, the people of that country (at least those we call insurgents) will continue to kill us and one another with random disregard for either.

If it were up to me, I’d tell any Iraqi who wanted (after they had cleared a security protocol) that they could come to the United States immediately.  In exchange for their departure from their homeland, our country would provide them with immediate access to visas and the necessary paperwork to begin a legal path to citizenship (hey there are already 12-20 million illegals in this country to whom we owe nothing).  Since we would be uprooting the Iraqis, we would also provide relocation assistance in the form of transportation, housing, healthcare and training so that they could emigrate successfully to the US.  I’d give those interested in this opportunity 3 months to get their affairs in order and then I would bring them (along with our troops) to the United States.  Anybody who wanted to stay in Iraq would be welcome to do so.

Even though I would pull a majority of our troops out, I would keep enough there to set-up a permanent protectorate in the oil rich region of the country and ensure a steady flow of crude to refineries and the Kuwaiti coast (this may not have been a war for oil, but I’ll be damned if it won’t be a peace for oil).  The insurgents want us out - fine we’re leaving.  We’re just making sure that the oil we in the western world so desperately need will be readily available (besides, it’s a small price to pay for total sovereignty in your land and Allah has no interest in cars… he can fly right?).

I don’t know what the costs of such an immense “Iraqi boat lift” would be.  I’m certain that between the combination of savings from military allocations to fund our current activities on the ground and the oil revenues, we would more than come out ahead.

I’m sure that it’s obvious by my simpleton approach that I don’t understand the Middle East.  Sadly, neither did the president when he chose to go to war.  If he did (or if someone he listened to did) it’s very likely that we wouldn’t have gone there in the first place - and that is a tragedy that will stain the American legacy beyond what our collective psyche was forced to endure in the aftermath of Vietnam.  Waiting any longer to leave will only make that stain larger and deeper.

It is indeed time to go.