Posted by
JayPeriod on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 10:11:47 PM
Let me begin by stating that I fully support our troops and our effort in Iraq. It was the right war, at the right time. Iraq, under Sadam Hussein was a powder keg waiting to explode. He had WMDs (perhaps they're in Damascus right now). He had used them on his own people before and surely would have used them wherever he felt he needed. The fact that we are fighting al-Qaeda (not "insurgents"), shows that we are in the right place.
Now, on to the problem with Iraq. We have been there for about four years now, and we've not walked away with a resounding victory. Of course, it took us four years to defeat the Germans and Japanese in WWII, and that was with a military that wasn't decimated by the previous administration. We fought the Cold War for over 40 years, but there were no troops in combat with that. Our troops have done a great job with the situation they have been thrown into.
Having said that, I'll explain the situation. We look at Iraq from a western perspective. We in America have our differences, but we are generally accepting of one another. We have our common ground. That is not the case in Iraq. Iraq is actually a conglomeration of three distinct peoples; Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds. These three peoples don't share much culture or other aspects of society. The Sunnis and Shi'ites are Muslims, but from factions that have been fighting for centuries and many of the Kurds are Muslims, but their cultural differences don't cause them to side with either of the other groups.
To end this problem, early on in the war, Iraq would have needed to have been divided into three distinct countries. This would have allowed each to set up a government which favored their separate beliefs and cultures. The problem with this was the oil; who would have controlled it? Most of the oil is in the south. The Shi'ites and Kurds would not have stood for this. So, something would have had to been done to bring equity in dispersion of the monies. Allowing the UN (think food-for-oil scandal) to handle it would have only led to corruption. They had enough of that under Sadam.
Without this division of the land, peace may never be truly achieved. This will make it all the better when we can turn over security and policing to the Iraqi people, but don't expect things to be smooth. Look for widespread violence to continue and human rights to be violated. That will happen, though, no matter how long we stay. Ultimately, they will just have to learn to get along.
So, pray for our troops while they are over there. Send them a thank you email or note and pray for a quick return. By the way, as of this writing, General Petraeus is predicting a drawdown of US forces by summer '08, as Iraqi forces become ready.