[Grovenet] Questions About Our Intentions in Iraq...

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

I'm sure many of you have followed what the democratic majority in Congress
is doing so perhaps you can answer my question. 

Not surprisingly I see lots of calls to change our strategy in Iraq. I think
I'm in the majority of all Americans in agreeing with that sentiment. 

But what, exactly, is the democratic majority advocating we do? 

I see lots of calls to withdraw, such as Senator Clinton's most recent bill
about which she said, "Now it's time to say the redeployment should start in
90 days or the Congress will revoke authorization for this war." (1) 

>From the beginning Al Qaeda has been very clear that they wanted us to leave
and that they were fighting us so we would leave. 

If we leave, then, isn't that another defeat for America? Should we allow
ourselves to be run out of Iraq? 

And what about the millions of Iraqis who were living peacefully and
prosperously under Saddam who are now living in desperate circumstances
because of us? Their children can't go to school. We're overseeing the
destruction of a whole generation of children. There is little or no running
water or electricity. Many have poor housing, if any at all, and every child
and adult faces very real threat of a gruesome death at any moment. 

We created those circumstances. Now we recognize that the violence is
between Iraqi sects. That means it won't stop when we leave. If anything,
experience with ethnic cleansing around the world shows us that if we leave
it'll escalate. We'll be responsible for more millions of deaths by
inaction.

I admit that I don't like to see my country give up and walk away from a
challenge. I'd not have liked it if, after the Apollo 1 disaster that killed
astronauts White, Grissom and Chafee we had stopped the space program
because it was too dangerous and difficult. If we had, what would hundreds
of thousands have toiled and those men have died to achieve?

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have faced danger in Iraq. Thousands have
died there. Hundreds of thousands more Americans have seen loved ones,
friends and neighbors go off to fight. Every American will spend the next
several decades paying the huge bill for the Iraq venture. 

Is the democratic majority in Congress is saying "Forget all that. Let's
quit. This is too hard...?"

If not, what do they define as success? How do they plan to achieve it? 

This is a real concern to me because, in my view, the only thing worse than
what the Bush administration did in launching and prosecuting this war would
be to walk away and pretend it never happened, or that it's an "Iraqi
problem".


Ron D'Eau Claire 

(1) http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070218/pl_nm/iraq_usa_dc_14