What It Means to End the War in Iraq
The on going discussion about ending the War in Iraq is complicated. Despite the administration’s recent avowals that “the surge is working” the domestic scene and infrastructure in Iraq remains chaotic. The actual numbers of dead, wounded or displaced Iraqi’s are legion: depending on which website
you prefer the numbers are both huge and tragic. On some level we have become inured to them. When a recent double suicide bombing took place (2/1/2008) killing 99 civilians it was business as usual. It was a sinister echo of the words of Laura Bush almost a year ago “Many parts of Iraq are
stable now. But, uh, of course, what we see on television is the one bombing a day that discourages everyone.”
Discouraging is hardly the proper word.
Could the administration simply declare a “victory” in Iraq and withdraw our troops? Hardly. Could the administration, on the other hand, have the fortitude to bring our troops home, admitting that the war had been a tumultuous mistake? Unlikely.
The United States has a moral responsibility to undo its egregious wrongs in Iraq and commit itself to working with the international community to correct them according to the desire of Iraqi people. Confronting the problem of terrorism is not our duty alone.
One way out of Iraq is to accept this fact with humility.