Goodbye, Iraq

Can Iraq Survive?

Published on February 9, 2005 By TaBoo Tenente In Politics

I do not live in Iraq. I've never been there, though I have spent time in the Middle East. I am not a soldier, and I do not patrol the streets of Baghdad, or fight to maintain safety while Iraqi citizens attempt to control the direction of a new government.

But news reports and military maps seem to suggest an unfortunate reality. United States and the coalition of armed forces appear to occupy only a tiny section of the whole, while insurgents continue to struggle. I cannot attest to the general sentiment among Iraqi citizens, but I feel that the overall morale must wildly fluctuate. Did the average Iraqi know for what they were voting? Can they imagine what the future will look like in ten years? Would the average Iraqi, in the privacy of prayer and hidden heart, wish for our armed forces to remain, or to leave?

Regardless of the political direction, the new government must first and foremost create a new infrastructure that will provide police and fire rescue, medical care and food production. From the perspective of a private citizen of the United States, things look bleak. What happens when our forces pull out and return to their homes? Will we have the capability, never mind the willingness, to train and support the new government?

What happens if the government restores a theocracy of some sort? Will our support continue? What if insurgents strike deep into Baghdad: will we return en masse?

Right now, I have this growing sense that, unless we maintain a permanent presence in Iraq, then the country may dissolve beyond repair. How long are we willing to remain? Do we want to remain? Should we remain?

I am very interested in a soldier's perspective right now. Those of you who continue to fight, how do you see the future? What hopes do you have that you might lend to me, a lowly, sheltered citizen of the distant United States?

Copyright ©2004, ©2005, ©2006 Joshua Suchman. All rights reserved.
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Comments (Page 3)

Dr Guy

on Feb 11, 2005

Reply By: TaBoo TenentePosted: Friday, February 11, 2005
dr. guy,

carter and bush couldnt be more different, could they? one with the retiring, inaffectual attitude and the other with the blunt, somewhat sensitive trigger finger . . . i cant imagine that carter could have done too much less to solve the problems in iran and i still have no idea what bush's motivations are. dont get me wrong: im shaky about bush in general (and im not losing sleep over the fact that kerry lost the election) but im praying that he knows what he is doing right now.

And again, you are correct. But as my Boss told me once when promoting me "Someone has to be the company asshole, and now you are it".

Sometimes it takes a cowboy instead of a man with the best intentions. I have no doubt that Carter meant well, but the end result was anything but. Bus means well as well, but then he has thrown off the mantle of appeaser to get the job done. SOmetimes that is what it takes. We can hope he is right in this case.

TaBoo Tenente

on Feb 11, 2005

couchman,

why is the world community the same as the ranting left? that's a huge label. are you saying that anyone who participates in international politics or society rants and has politically liberal leanings? or are you saying that anyone in the usa who considers international relations important a lefty who speaks often and insensibly?

you've got great information, though. what do you use for sources? i can never find a comprehensive, up-to-date resource, and when i try to put together a collection of sources that i respect and trust, they always contradict each other. newspapers are out of the question. all stories have the reporter first-person bias that is so trendy these days; meanwhile the popular tv reports are so highly charged by ratings that any slant they can create makes for good shows--though obviously some found out recently that you can get in trouble without substantiating their leads.

do you have internet sites bookmarked or a news channel that you find to be un-biased? beyond the current events scene, you've obviously done your own research. just as obviously, you are coming from the perspective of an angry conservative who probably at some point was more moderate than conservative. maybe, like many middle-ground standing intelligent free-thinkers, you were offended by the sweeping assumptions and arrogant attitudes displayed by the left in recent years and this took all the air out of your willingness to remain unpartisan. who knows? probably you and certainly not me.

nevertheless, while im sure there are rabid packs of disgruntled, distraught liberals out there who no longer know how to face the world of politics who may in the darkness of their hearts hope that everything falls apart in iraq for the simple perverse joy of saying "hey! i told you so! remember that i told you so?" but the majority of the world--liberals, too, the ranting left, too--even among the slanted media faces that probably drive you batty, want things to work out for iraq. you know as well as i that if theres a news story to be had if only 99% of iraqis were able to vote instead of 100% then someone is going to snap it up. in an alter world where the liberal voice of the last election was slightly less high-pitched, slightly more tolerable, and hurricanes never happened when they did and george bush was making viagra commercials while john kerry was decorating the oval office, you would hear the same news stories and the same spins--this time from disgruntled conservatives on tv and radio.

that's just how it goes when money and journalistic flare are on the line. even with all of the media slant and politically winged turbo charged absolutists, people like you and like me can both hope or pray (depending on your leaning) that

we at least give them the chance at doing that before we jump at every little bit that may seem wrong from a western democracy point of view.

.

my guess is that if you think i am jumping at "every little bit that may seem wrong" then you either didnt read my article or misinterpreted my intent--which is very possible, and while i enjoy writing i do not claim to have mastered the art of expressing my thoughts the way i would like. if that is the case, then i apologize.

throughout this thread, i have looked forward to your regular comments, and i thank you for them. they are very informed. but i cant help but think that you are responding, as many people here and elsewhere are these days, to an attack from a group of people who dont actually exist under the label that you think they do.

true, i am a liberal, and i have no illusions that the liberal arrogance that has infected the democratic party in recent years hasnt affected me, too. im not perfect, that much is certain, and i was just as distraught as, say, mr. carville who hung his head like a scolded puppy dog for weeks after the election. but i am open minded and looking for hope--which i find from dialogue with people who come from a different perspective. im doing my best to keep labels out of my vocabulary because i feel that there is no worse way to limit thought and understanding than to slap a label on someone. it shows shoddy logic and comprehension, and an incomplete grasp on the realties of a very dynamic and very political world.

i hope to hear from you again on this thread, couchman. i also hope you hear my voice speaking more clearly now. feel free to defend your position, but please dont group me with a certain ranting voice that i am trying to fight for my own sake. you dont want to be grouped with the penultimate expression of conservative thought (fascism) nor do i feel any need to group myself with the liberal counterpart (probably your ranting left social democrats).

with that in mind, we can get back to the simple pieces of your responses--those that deal with hope. like you, i find that the voting process is a great place to find hope, and a very good place to start.

tbt

couchman

on Feb 11, 2005

You would be WRONG! Although it did sustain damage from the volcano, that is NOT the reason it closed. It was closed at the request of the Philippine senate

Geez...calm down....did I scream you were wrong or an idiot or anything of that nature....no . I simply stated that I believed it was closed due to the volcano...or at least it was a contributing factor...man some people need to lay off caffeine

thatoneguyinslc

on Feb 11, 2005

WOW, did i just see Guy throwing Jimmy Carter a compliment?

(scratching head) I just don't know what to say now.

drmiler

on Feb 11, 2005

You would be WRONG! Although it did sustain damage from the volcano, that is NOT the reason it closed. It was closed at the request of the Philippine senate

Geez...calm down....did I scream you were wrong or an idiot or anything of that nature....no . I simply stated that I believed it was closed due to the volcano...or at least it was a contributing factor...man some people need to lay off caffeine

I apologize for that. Seems no one around here likes anything that I use for emphasis on a word. Tried "" and ** and caps. Don't know what else to use. Especially since it's so hard for me to type in the first place.

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