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Now, most readers of this blog know I hold a contrarian view of the Iraq adventure, but let me restate it here: We can put this one in the “Win” column fairly quickly, but it would require some common sense, some (not even much, to tell the truth) knowledge of the history and culture of the area and a little simple honesty.
1.) Acknowledge the simple fact of the matter that NO ONE in nearly the past millennium and a half has managed to “peacefully” rule that region without either separating the barbaric inhabitants who nurture generational tribal and religious feuds (partitioning) OR ruling them with a bloody fist of iron. We are unlikely–for many reasons–to be bloody-minded enough to accomplish the latter, so partitioning the area is the only historically proven method left to us, but how to do it?
2.) Allow the Kurds to rule their own traditional homelands and give them all the help–materiel and personnel–needed to assure their safety and independence. They are the ONLY peope group in the region who are likely to be not only allies but actually friends to the U.S., for many reasons, not the least of which is their exceptional (for the area) tradition of religious and political tolerance.
3.) Send the savage kiddies to their rooms–separate the Sunnis and Shiites (since those religious distinctions also would allow separating almost all the tribal rivalries as well). Let ’em know that any fighting amongst themselves thereafter is on their own heads, but they are NOT to touch the oil-producing regions on pain of death. Period. Sure, allow fair oil revenue sharing, but messing about with the oil production would result in the Wrath of God (or at least His iron fist in the form of American bombs) descending upon the silly little savages.
There you have it: the prescription for a Win in Iraq… a bitter pill to the Jacobian lotus eaters in the Bush administration, and utterly unacceptable to the Defeatocrats, as well. Therefore, completely unworkable for purely political reasons.
The story of contemporary American politics: if it makes sense, it is verboten.
First, thanks for linking to our card! I appreciate it.
We agree that a stronger solution is needed in Iraq. I do think that as 2008 gets closer, the Administration is likely to get (and in some ways not obvious in our media is already getting) more realistic about what victory is going to mean.
To me, the key is a combination of not surrendering (as Pelosi would do, and which would ensure, among other things, that no foreign ally current or prospective would ever trust us again), and just getting the Iraqi Army on its feet. The soldiers I talk to assure me that that last bit is happening more quickly than anyone realizes. And if we can reach that point, we can legitimately say our objectives are met and leave.
One result of this, by the way, is likely to be a combination of several of your proposed solutions. But they’ll be Iraqi solutions, and that’s as it ought to be.
In the meantime, we need to stop the surrender bill. So thank you again for the link. I appreciate what you’re doing.
Rod D. Martin
Founder and Chairman
TheVanguard.Org