Yesterday in Washington D.C., Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) publicly reversed his position on the Iraq War, encouraging President Bush to reduce our troop presence there.
Mr. Lugar said in a speech on the Senate floor, "In my judgment, the costs and risks of continuing down the current path outweigh the potential benefits that might be achieved. Persisting indefinitely with the surge strategy will delay policy adjustments that have a better chance of protecting our vital interests over the long term."
Please take time today to write Senator Lugar and let him know you support his views. Mr. Lugar is a very senior Republican Senator, having served in the Senate since 1977, and carries much influence in that legislative body. Your e-mails could be critical in shaping the views of the Senate now that Mr. Bush's most loyal war-hawks are coming to reason.
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2 comments:
I am not an advocate of the war and I believe it will go down in history as one of the most disastrous and consequential failed presidential policies - however, I worry. As Americans, we are now responsible for the state of Iraq and its progress going forward. I am so tired of the constant barrage of "The Iraqi people need to take responsible for their country." The truth of the matter is that we mistakenly expect that they can embrace democracy without any hesitation. If a completely different governmental structure was imposed on Americans, how quickly would we adjust and respond? The Iraqi people have been suppressed for decades - democracy is a completely foreign concept to them. Once we pull out all the troops as so many advocate, what will happen to Iraq? Will it become a breeding ground for terrorists? A puppet state for Iran? It seems like people do not consider the implications that such a strategy would have. Have we considered how the rest of the world will view us? We went into Iraq on a mission to destroy Saddam - we cannot secure the country so it's time to leave and let the people live in a terrorist controlled state in civil war with no end in sight. I don't have much faith in the intervention of the UN once we are gone.
I'm not saying that I don't support the withdrawal of troops - I'm just saying that I hope the American people consider the consequences of such a grave strategy. We live a comfortable lifestyle - without a doubt, our failure in the Middle East will have a torrential effect on our lives - our safety will most certainly be jeopardized. I hope Americans are prepared.
Colleen,
Your argument has merit, but you fail to come up with an alternate solution. Iraq is already becoming a puppet state for Iran. We need to concentrate on border security and alternate energy sources. Let the middle east go-to-hell. Take federal land in CA, NV, UT, NM and make it the new soverign state of Israel. Desert is desert is desert...we can have those Discovery Channel Mega-Movers just move all the holy sites. Let the Sunnis and Shias fight over what's left. Let Hamas have Palestine.
Seriously though, I believe that the only thing that is left for us to do is to withdraw our troops to the northern Kurdish areas and be on call to the Iraqi government to come put out "hot spots", with very specific conditions at which the US would respond.
Additionally, we should bring home all but the bare minimum needed to occupy Kurdish areas. Once those troops stand down, we should cut the military's manpower budget and concentrate that money on border security, CIVILIAN homeland defense and military technology that requires no danger on part of actual soldiers: military robots, remote aircraft - like the Predator, etc. We could save money by not employing a bunch of soldiers that can get shot at, but a few guys "playing Nintendo" out of harm's way.
Brandon
Editor-In-Chief
Political Musings
political.musings@insightbb.com
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