We’re losing the war in Iraq. That’s what a majority of Americans think according to a recent Washington Post article. Do you suppose that Americans think we’re losing the war in Iraq because that is what has been coming out of the media since May 1, 2003? It amazes me that the Bush administration cannot muster a communications department that can get better control of the message.
The stated goal of the invasion by Coalition forces was to remove Saddam and his party from power. A ramification of that stated goal is the necessity to put a new government in place. The war was over when Saddam and his government no longer held power. A new government has been established. While it can be said that the initial representatives were picked by Americans, in the elections since those people have been replaced. The current Iraqi government might still show some American finger prints but the process is in place for the Iraqi people to remove those finger prints if they wish.
Coalition forces remain in Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government and by a resolution of the United Nations. The same United Nations that everyone wanted us to involve in the Iraqi process. Transfer of power in the middle east is typically an extremely violent process. Leaders in the middle east typically lead through fear and violence, to one degree or another. If the government of Iraq is to survive it will need assistance in dealing with the violence until it has its own forces that can provide security, internal and external. This is and should be the criteria for Coalition forces exiting Iraq. An Iraqi force that is capable of defending Iraq against all foes, foreign and domestic.
And what is America’s national interest in Iraq? Oil. The world economy runs on oil. We can deny it, we can cuss it, we can talk about how it needs to change but in the world we live in, the world economy runs on oil. Gain control of a significant portion of the world’s oil reserves and you have undue influence on the world economy. It is in America’s best interest to make sure the world oil reserves remain readily accessible to the world. Even after we have weaned ourselves off of oil, it will still be in America’s best interest to protect the world’s oil reserves.
aloha
[posted with ecto]