[Vision2020] Iraq - What is to be done?
Joan Opyr
auntiestablishment@hotmail.com
Mon, 5 Apr 2004 19:31:14 -0700
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Rwiza writes:
>The war was a HUGE mistake and there is no way we can go back. Who was r=
ight and wrong is not an >issue now. What is our exit strategy? What we h=
ave on the drawing boards is not working and wont >work - come June!
>International assistance is required. Let us put our "Pride" aside and i=
nvolve a wider International >Community and we should be ready to share r=
esponsibilities and risks. The current "coalition" is no >good! =20
>Pretending the 'coalition' is working will get more people killed i.e. m=
ore Iraqis and the "coalition" >soldiers!
Agreed on all points. Perhaps we could begin by admitting first that our=
"coalition of the willing" isn't. For a variety of reasons, and under a=
variety of political covers, Spain, Poland, and New Zealand have publicl=
y discussed pulling out. Sure, they're not contributing all that much on=
the ground, but it doesn't look good in terms of this being an internati=
onal effort, does it? Britain will stay for the long haul, but, bless th=
eir hearts, they've never known when to quit.
That said, I don't support pulling our troops from Iraq. We've made this=
bed; I think we're obliged to lie in it. Besides, pragmatically, we can=
't afford to have a chaotic, Afghanistan/Yugoslavia-style, ethnically war=
ring Iraq on the border of our primary oil supply. Our only hope now is =
to eat crow at the U. N. and/or NATO and get a truly international force,=
of which, alas, we'll still be the primary supplier of troops. While th=
e situation on the ground at the moment does suggest Vietnam, we might st=
ill be able to salvage something from this mess by following a more Clint=
onian model. I didn't support our actions in Bosnia or Kosovo (largely b=
ecause I thought the negotiations were one-sided and ignored the rise of =
militant fundamentalism among Bosnian and Kosovar muslims) but that regio=
n of the world is certainly looking more functional these days than Iraq.
BTW, speaking of making beds and lying in them, in case you're wondering =
whose head that is on the pillow next to King George, it's Crown Prince A=
bdullah of the House of Saud. He's not much fun to sleep with -- he stea=
ls all the covers and only puts out when he's "in the mood" -- but he is =
ours and we are his, until we come up with something better than gasoline=
to run in our Ford Expeditions. Too bad we can't run on wishful thinkin=
g. The Bush Administration is pumping millions of barrels of that.
Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
PS: I read an article today on the dramatic increase in friendly-fire cas=
ualties in both this and the previous Gulf War. In Vietnam, friendly fir=
e casualties spanned from 2 to 12%, less in the early years, more during =
operations like the Tet Offensive. In this war, and in Gulf War I, FF ca=
sualties are estimated at 24%, and Marines and other soldiers on the grou=
nd are saying that that's a low-ball. Poor planning? Poor coordination?=
Poor communication? I'd be interested to hear from the military folk o=
n the list. Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : ht=
tp://explorer.msn.com
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<HTML><BODY STYLE=3D"font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV> </DIV> <=
DIV>Rwiza writes:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>>The war was a HUGE mis=
take and there is no way we can go back. Who was right and wrong is not a=
n >issue now. What is our exit strategy? What we have on the drawing b=
oards is not working and wont >work - come June!</DIV> <DIV> </DI=
V> <DIV>>International assistance is required. Let us put our "Pride" =
aside and involve a wider International >Community and we should be re=
ady to share responsibilities and risks. The current "coalition" is no &g=
t;good! </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>>Pretending the 'coalition' is w=
orking will get more people killed i.e. more Iraqis and the "coalition" &=
gt;soldiers!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Agreed on all=
points. Perhaps we could begin by admitting first that our "coalit=
ion of the willing" isn't. For a variety of reasons, and under a va=
riety of political covers, Spain, Poland, and New Zealand have publi=
cly discussed pulling out. Sure, they're not contributing all =
that much on the ground, but it doesn't look good in terms of this being =
an international effort, does it? Britain will stay for the long ha=
ul, but, bless their hearts, they've never known when to quit.</DIV>=
<DIV> </DIV> <DIV>That said, I don't support pulling our troops fro=
m Iraq. We've made this bed; I think we're obliged to lie in it.&nb=
sp; Besides, pragmatically, we can't afford to have a chaotic, Afgha=
nistan/Yugoslavia-style, ethnically warring Iraq on the border of ou=
r primary oil supply. Our only hope now is to eat crow at the U. N.=
and/or NATO and get a truly international force, of which, alas, we'll s=
till be the primary supplier of troops. While the situation on the =
ground at the moment does suggest Vietnam, we might still be able to=
salvage something from this mess by following a more Clintonian mod=
el. I didn't support our actions in Bosnia or Kosovo (largely becau=
se I thought the negotiations were one-sided and ignored the rise of=
militant fundamentalism among Bosnian and Kosovar muslims) but that regi=
on of the world is certainly looking more functional these days than=
Iraq.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>BTW, speaking of making beds and lyin=
g in them, in case you're wondering whose head that is on the pillow next=
to King George, it's Crown Prince Abdullah of the House of Saud. H=
e's not much fun to sleep with -- he steals all the covers and only =
puts out when he's "in the mood" -- but he is ours and we are h=
is, until we come up with something better than gasoline to run in our Fo=
rd Expeditions. Too bad we can't run on wishful thinking. &nbs=
p;The Bush Administration is pumping millions of barrels of that.</DIV> <=
DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment</DIV> <DIV> </D=
IV> <DIV>PS: I read an article today on the dramatic increase i=
n friendly-fire casualties in both this and the previous Gulf War.&n=
bsp; In Vietnam, friendly fire casualties spanned from 2 to 12%,&nbs=
p;less in the early years, more during operations like the Tet Offen=
sive. In this war, and in Gulf War I, FF casualties are e=
stimated at 24%, and Marines and other soldiers on the ground are saying =
that that's a low-ball. Poor planning? Poor coordination=
? Poor communication? I'd be interested to hear from the mili=
tary folk on the list. </DIV></BODY><=
/HTML><br clear=3Dall><hr>Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer downl=
oad : <a href=3D'http://explorer.msn.com'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br>=
</p>
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