(cross-published in today's UCONN daily campus)
When the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces, General Wesley Clark, came to UCONN last Friday he said "When I graduated from West Point, we didn't know where UCONN was, now you're a powerhouse athletically. The question is, are you going to be a powerhouse politically and help to change this country?" How can we meet the General's challenge? We can register to vote, and then turn out in massive numbers on November 7th. We can change this country by demanding an end to the occupation of Iraq by voting for Ned Lamont. The reason National political celebrities like Lamont & Clark came to UCONN is because they know in a close election UCONN can make the difference. Stay the course means staying forever. The same masterful public relations marketing techniques used to sell America on invasion are now being used to sell America on staying. They lied to get us to go to war, now they're lying to keep us in Iraq. They lie to us about who we are fighting, why we are fighting them, and how long we plan to stay.
more on the flip
The debate in America is all wrong. It's all about us, our priorities, our interests, how we believe Iraq should be. We forget Iraq is not our country. What do Iraqis have to say? One of the latest polls of attitudes held by Iraqis was published by The Program on International Policy Attitudes on 9/27/06.
In this poll 71% of Iraqis say "they would like the Iraqi government to ask for US-led forces to be withdrawn from Iraq within a year or less." Bush tells us the insurgency is made up of foreign fighters, and dead-enders. But how could the insurgency be so successful without broad popular support? 61 percent of Iraqis support attacks against US-led forces. Clearly we are not viewed as liberators. Bush tells us that if we leave now Iraq will become even more violent. 79 percent of Iraqis say "that the US is having a negative influence on the situation." When asked "if US-led forces withdraw from Iraq in the next six months," 58 percent say "that violence would decrease".
Why do Iraqis have such a different view than Americans? Because they are there living it, and we just get Bush's spin. For three and a half years Bush tried guns & bombs, and war has been a miserable failure. It's time to end our military operations in Iraq and redeploy our forces. We can begin sending massive foreign aid shipments of food, medicine and manufactured goods. Iraqis can by themselves rebuild their burned out country and scarred society. Iraq needs American butter, not American guns. Be confident that Iraq can solve it's own problems better than we can.
As long as we continue to occupy Iraq, Iraqi's will fight their occupiers. As long as America pits one group in Iraq against the other Iraqi's will fight each other.The longer we stay, the longer the civil war in Iraq will be drawn out. Bush tells us we need to stay to prop up the current government. When Iraqis are asked if US redeployment would strengthen or weaken the Iraqi government 53 percent polled said "that it would strengthen the government". But what if it doesn't? What if Iraqis vote out or overthrow the current government once we leave?
Virtually every country on earth has had at one time a civil war. America had a civil war, and we turned out alright. Once we leave the government will stand or it won't. It's not up to us. There's a power struggle going on in Iraq right now, we have to get out of the way so it can resolve itself quickly. If the government is overthrown another will take power quickly and stability will return to Iraq. The healing of Iraq can't begin until we leave. We deposed the dictator, mission accomplished, we won. It's time to come home. Be confident in the people of Iraq's abilities to solve their own problems. It is time to change course in Iraq.
A Lamont victory will be a clear sign that Connecticut demands a change in course on Iraq.