Monday, October 21, 2019
Essay on US Withdrawal from Iraq The WritePass Journal
Essay on US Withdrawal from Iraq Essay on US Withdrawal from Iraq The Bush administration entered theà United Statesà in an armed intervention ofà Iraq, aà warà that leading scholars deemed ââ¬Å"unnecessaryâ⬠at the timeà (Mearsheimer and Walt, 2003). Under the false pretext of a crisis for Americaââ¬â¢s national security,à and international peace and security in general, because of the perceived threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction ââ¬â that were never uncovered à ââ¬â the President decided that armed intervention was the best choice of action.à With the failure to prove any significantà WMDà were in Iraq, the program of theà warà was conveniently shifted toà delivering the Iraqi people from an evil ruler toà democratic order. This process of deliverance, at best a ââ¬Å"stalemateâ⬠(Posen, 2006), has seen an alarming loss of American lives and increasing expense of the American commitment in Iraq, while putting severe pressuresà on the American economy. At this point,à the United St atesà should look for an exit strategy that totally withdrawals Americanà troops fromà Iraq. At this point, it must be clearly understood that the recommendationà for American withdrawal is not being made on the grounds that going toà warà was itself a bad decision on the part of the Bush administration. Instead, the reasons for a fast and total withdrawal are being made on the basis of Americaââ¬â¢s long term national interests, and the lives of our troops.à As Posen maintains, the reduction of military, economic and political costsà this shall entail could then be used toà goodà effectà elsewhere (2006).à Theà warà inà Iraqà has resulted in thousands of American lives lost, and played part in destroying our economy. There still remainsà a difference of opinions between the Democratic and Republican parties on this matter, with the Democrats favoringà a more rapid withdrawal and the Republicans making withdrawals contingent upon certain conditions. To elaborate, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hadà spoken of a strategy that would help with an expedition of troops and the employment of a ââ¬Å"new diplomatic initiativeâ⬠à (quoted at America.Gov)à asking other countries to help in Iraqs reconstruction. President Obama is still pushing for American troop withdrawal fromà Iraq, pulling two brigades out every month and providing $2 billion in humanitarian aid to theà war-ravaged country (America.Gov).à Finally, the Republican position on the matter, Sen. John McCain, remains that the training and development of Iraqi soldiers is vital to an American withdrawal; unless Iraqââ¬â¢s security forces become stronger, the country shall be mired in civilà warà andà fall prey toà the devices of the al Qaeda, deeming the United Statesââ¬â¢ exit impossibleà (America.Gov). From these contrary positions, it is clear that this debate is fiercely contested. One of the strongest cases against withdrawing is that it could lead toà Iraqà going into a civilà war. However, a closer inspection reveals that the conditions of civilà warà are already in existence; with the Baath partyââ¬â¢s banned and the advantages of fundamentalist Islamistsà due to theà warà has led to a situation ofà civilà war. The continued presence of American troops and counter-insurgency operations has been unable to stop this situation, where insurgents target civilians and Iraqis kill Iraqis, all the while putting American troopââ¬â¢s lives at risk.à The civilà warà has alreadyà begun to some degree, and there is no point in continuingà American engagement inà Iraq. Another important argumentà against withdrawal, in line with Sen. McCainââ¬â¢s reasoning, is that American forces must only leave Iraqà after ensuringà thatà Iraqââ¬â¢s security forces are competent enough to maintain order. The progress for Iraqi security forces is slow and has a long way to go. Continued American presence only makes things worse, because Iraqi politicians do not feel compelled to resolve Iraqââ¬â¢s issues andà poorà attempts at making improvement, have given the US existing cover. All this has done, isà produce a culture that is dependent on American assistance which, theà moreà it continues, can only be harmful toà Iraqà in the longà term. Some suggest a time-boundà withdrawalà of American troops from Iraq.à Others argue that an American exit fromà Iraqà at this moment would increase the growing influence of terrorists in the country, while severely undermining the stature of theà United Statesà in the eyes of the world. However, this is far from the truth. Firstly, the point about terrorists is a double-edged sword and is a risk that must be taken. While a withdrawal may indeed give some power to the terrorists inà Iraq, it is important to note that the continued American presence has given the al Qaedaà a reason to continue attacks on America troops . In fact, pulling out ofà Iraqà may encourage the Sunnis to take the offensive to the al Qaeda and its sympathizers (Posen,à 2006). Secondly, it is foolish to expect that an American withdrawal can change things, to any considerable degree.à As William Welch argues, this image of the mighty U.S was already in question once it launched an unwarranted preventiveà war, andà gotà further tainted when it delayed the involvement of the United Nations and other willing countries to aid of the reconstruction of Iraq. In addition, recent studies argue that the moralà backboneà of theà US,à which promotes the pursuits of democracy and liberation ofà other countries as ethical responsibilities, is in itself very narrow-minded (Welch,à 2010).à Instead of worrying about the U.Sââ¬â¢ credibility over withdrawing fromà Iraq, ità may, in fact, strengthen the U.S image somewhat. Finally, another important ââ¬â but shaky ââ¬â argument against withdrawal is that a rapid exit after such a long battle would severely demoralize the American troops. However, as Lt. Gen. William E. Odom observes, nothing could be farther from the truth: ââ¬Å"Hiding behind the argument of troop morale shows no willingness to accept the responsibilities of command. The truth is, most wars would stop early if soldiers had the choice of whether or not to continue. This is certainly true inà Iraq, where a withdrawal is likely to raise morale amongà U.S.à forces.â⬠(2006) Thus, it is safe to say that the opposing arguments of American troopsââ¬â¢ withdrawal do not hold much weight. But, it must be remembered that the case for a well-planned exit strategy does not only rest on this negation of contrary arguments. It is also supplied with the important consideration of Americaââ¬â¢s best interests; these are what we must now investigate to insure the withdrawal. Americaââ¬â¢s key interestà in the Persian Gulf regionà is that of oil, although contrary to popular belief, the interest is not of control, but of ensuring a regular supply from the Middle East to the United States; also making sure that political adversaries do not gain control of these resources to the detriment of the US and other areas of the world dependent on energy supply from theà regionà (Posen,à 2006).à Stopping the ties between terrorist organizations and state administrations is also an important issue becauseââ¬Å"â⬠¦we have learned from the alliance between al Qaeda and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that it is unwise to allow terrorists to get a foothold in a sympathetic state from which they can propagandize, recruit, organize, train, and planà in relative security.â⬠à (Posen,à 2006) The concerns of oil are shared by many countries and most of them would be willing to contribute to a solution, which could also be done through the U.N. Even if theà U.Sà is required to maintain an active deployment inà Iraqà due to such a turn, it shall still be many times smaller than its currentà operations. Furthermore, the outcome of an Iraqi civilà warà would, in all probability, be a stalemate ââ¬â a result mostà favorableà to American national interests (Posen,à 2006). The best way to expedite this situation is to pull out ofà Iraq. The worst possible thing of this stalemate could be an intensification of al Qaeda operations in the Sunni-dominated areas ofà Iraq; however, as discussed above, this is a contentious issue, and it could very well be theà USââ¬â¢ troops themselves which are causing such a calamity. In conclusion, it is important to look at the more vivid reminders that urge for an American withdrawal from Iraq.à The unabated loss of American lives inà Iraq, since the launch of theà war, ran close to 4,400 deaths inà December, 2010; this number is far greater than those resulting from the offensive inà Afghanistan,à totalingà 501 deaths inà over seven years (White,à 2011).à The economic downturn for theà USà because of theà warà inà Iraqà has been immenseà too, stretching well beyond $900 billion as early as January 2011.à In light of these facts, it isà increasingly difficult to argue against an American withdrawal fromà Iraq. In the best interest of servicingà Americaââ¬â¢s military, political and economic interests,à the arguments against withdrawal only seem to justify the continuation of poor policy choices, and it is in theà USââ¬â¢ best interests that a plan for military disengagement fromà Iraqà be devised withoutà hesitation orà delay. 1.à à à à Posen, Barry. ââ¬Å"How to disengage from Iraq in 18 months.â⬠à Boston Review. Jan. 2006. 18 Mar. 2011 http://bostonreview.net/BR31.1/posen.php 2.à à à à America.Gov ââ¬Å"Election 2008 Issuesâ⬠7 Mar. 2008. 18 Mar. 2011 america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2008/March/20080307131621liameruoy0.4348108.html 3.à à à à Mearsheimer, John J. and Walt, Stephen M. ââ¬Å"An unnecessary War.â⬠Foreign Policy. Jan. 2003. 18 Mar. 2011 mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/walt.htm 4.à à à à White, Deborah. ââ¬Å"Iraq War Factsâ⬠About.com. 2 Mar. 2011. 19 Mar. 2011 http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm 5.à à à à Welch, William M. ââ¬Å"Fight a Thousand Battlesâ⬠USA Today. 2010. 22.Mar.2011 http://usacac.army.mil/blog/blogs/fight/archive/2010/07/23/doubts-about-u-s-tactics-shadow-war-in-afghanistan-by-william-m-welch-and-jim-michaels-usa-today.aspx
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