Iraq: Not Black & White

In over simplified media discussions of Iraq, it seems like there are only two possible positions:

1) Support Bush 100 percent, or
2) The war is wrong, and our troops should be withdrawn immediately.

I don't agree with either position, since both are wrong. Here's why...

Bush does not deserve our support. The Bush administration has NEVER been honest with anyone about the real reasons for persuing this war. Instead, they used various rationals that have proven to be irrational:

• Weapons of Mass Destruciton. This whole rationale was based entirely on worst-case interpretations of intelligence data, mis-information accepted unquestioningly, outright fraud, and pure speculation. When Saddam Hussain agreed to admit weapons inspectors in the last few months before the war, there existed an opportuinity to verify this intelligence theory, but when the inspections did not produce the desired results, they were cut short by the commencement of the war.
• Remember 9/11. How many times do people have to be reminded that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11!!! How many more times will our government insult the intelligence of thinking people by trying to confuse us by talking about 9/11 and Iraq in the same context?
• "We fight them there so we don't have to fight them here." This slogan may have poetic rhythm, but it is logically stupid. The bombers in London apparently didn't know they were supposed to go to Iraq if they wanted to blow something up. Apparently Al Quada is supposed to not be smart enough to know that you attack your enemy where they are vulnerable, not where they are well-defended. The insurgents and terrorists in Iraq are persuing their objectives in Iraq. Anyone who wants to hurt Americans will do it here. And since we're persuing a war that plays into Al Quada's message to the Arab world that the USA wants to oppress them, they'll have plenty of reqruits.

But on the other hand, it would be detrimental to withdraw troops at this point. Here's why:

• We broke it, we bought it. Since we actually did remove an oppressive governement from Iraq, it is now our responsibility to ensure that the next goverment of Iraq is kinder to its people than the last one. It would be irresponsible and a betrayal of the Iraqi people to allow their country to fall back into control of Saddam Hussein's cronies or people who put beheading videos on the Internet.
• Premature withdraw sends the wrong message. It would send the message that insurgency and terrorism actually does work against the USA, which would encourage more terrorism and insurgency.

So the correct course of action at this point is to

1) Stay the course in Iraq until there is a democratic goverment stable & strong enough to retain power, and

2) Elect someone in 2008 who can hopefully repair all of the messes created by George W.