So here I am, listening to my loud music, kids at school, stealing time I should be using to do domestic chores like cleaning or trimming the damned hedge and here's that article Titus posted concerning Limbaugh's "Phony Soldiers" comment. And what comes out of that but an opinion defining the conservative from the "neoconservative."
As a defense for anti-war conservatives, this author states that if you're a real conservative, small government Hooverite, there's NO WAY you can be for this, or any war. So who comes out as this anti-war "true conservative?" Pat Buchanan. William Buckley. George Will. (And here's the disown part. I have always liked both Buckley and Will.)
Now the article kind of goes down a bizarre path when it comes to conditions of victory. True, Saddam is gone. True, elections have occurred. So to just pack up and leave now, in a neutral environment, all things being equal, should be a victorious act. Except that we no longer are fighting Iraqis.
Bund history check. Did any of us think this was going to be a neat, three month action with a squeaky clean exit? All of us knew it was a multi-year commitment. (That, of course, led to the vicious debate concerning Iran vs. Iraq because we knew we were maxing out on our ability to project force, even in one region.) To a man we agreed the "End of Hostilities" speech on the deck of that carrier was not smart or accurate. We agreed AT THE TIME. So now, years later when people are looking for exits, something that frighteningly sounds like peace with honor, you have die hard conservatives that are ringing the "I told you so" bell.
So here's the not rhetorical question: What happens now? What would be conditions for victory, or have they been achieved?
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3 comments:
Shockingly good post… I LOVE this kind of debate!
Hoover-ite versus Neo-Con aside, there is little question now that if we leave before an Iraqi government is established that can handle its own security and affairs, we are only destined to return and do it all again later, or watch the carnage and destruction on the cable news networks for decades to come. Don’t believe me? It happened in Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon, Korea (both halves), Cuba, and any one of three Central American states that we interfered with, including Panama. Arguments could be made that Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and East Germany also fall under this kind of “failure to finish” policy that the US has enacted in the past… but I won’t make them here.
In short, Bush and Friends got us into a mess… reasons aside, that’s the fact. Any President that goes into this kind of action PLANNING on the opposition party cooperating and being helpful beyond the period expected by political expedience is simply too stupid to ponder… so I refuse to listen to anyone BLAMING the Democrats for their admittedly tacky and tasteless lack of patriotic fervor when they decided to NOT back the Iraq War. This kind of opposition from the DNC should have been part of the planning from word “GO” back in March of 2003.
So, the mess is here, and we are in it up to our proverbial eyeballs. Far more than the majority of Americans now question our presence in Iraq, and many of those favored the invasion initially. We now have the added onus of having the media, the Democrats, and the rest of the Western world against us in our efforts, no matter the results in the end.
No withdrawal from Iraq can now be considered “victorious” unless the following conditions are met:
A strong and independent Iraqi government, capable of maintaining domestic security and international border security, functional elections, and basic human rights standards.
A coalition of neighboring states that can (and would be willing) to participate in mutual economic and humanitarian efforts with Iraq, to ensure the continued growth of freedom and free enterprise in the new nation, with compensation coming from monitored payments via proceeds of oil exports by the Iraqi government.
A lease (long term or short) for US and-or UN bases within the country to allow the US-UN to both monitor the Iraq regime AND to provide security elements in the region against rogue states like Syria and Iran, that lease to be paid for by the US-UN in specialized equipment for industry or infrastructure.
Obviously the first is the most important, and maybe the ONLY one that is required for a successful conclusion to the effort… but the other two make it a “win” for all involved (except maybe Iran and Syria). Anything less, and we are facing the very real (and historically inevitable) possibility that all our sacrifices and efforts to date will have been for nothing… or worse than nothing, we will have paved the way for another Saddam, or another Iran, or another Syria.
Tall and lofty goals, I don’t deny… but achievable in a time frame that isn’t much longer than that spent in post-war Germany and Japan (and South Korea, too) and look how well that turned out?
Just one more thing...
Buchannan is an ass... no question, but does fit the bill as you described it.
I'm not a Buckley fan, but you HAVE to love Will just for the MEN AT WORK book... one of the best baseball books ever written.
He also is the only person I have ever heard of that got Carter to apologize for ANYTHING he ever did or said. That must count for something!
First off, even though I disagree with Pat on Iraq, most commentators and talking heads couidn't hold his jock strap. His knowledge of history and ability to defend his principles are shockingly better than everyone else on TV, combined, and most of congress. not to mention he saw the illegals debate coming years ahead and was the first to put forth a concrete plan for addressing it. If he's an "ass", then what does that make your beloved Bill Clinton?
On the conditions for victory, your list is unassailable, especially the first reqirement. But let me ask you this - does any one in the DNC, including the presidential candidates, even utter the word victory? Elect a dem at this point in history and "victory" as you/we have defined it above will go from challenging to not even attempted.
FR
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