U.S. Army

Looking at the current conditions in Iraq, it seems that there is no end in sight. Four years ago this week, we were led into this war under the false pretense of weapons of mass destruction and a country in need of democracy. Today we look at the television and see a country in the middle of a civil war that never had any weapons and thousands of U.S. soldiers that have been over-worked. How is the world any better four years later?

Our president would have us believe that this war has been a vital step in the War on Terror that we are fighting. As much as I do believe in fighting terror and not letting the people like Osama bin Laden think they’ve won by giving up, I’m beginning to think that we really do need to sit down and have a serious discussion of an exit strategy for the Iraq War. When I say this, I don’t mean we bring in the most pro-Bush, gun-tootin, ‘Let’s go to war’ senator and a hippie that hates all form of violence whatsoever and let them go at it. We’ve seen that argument already. It doesn’t get us anywhere.

What I’m talking about is getting together a rational, level-headed group of political leaders from all backgrounds and talk about what it’s going to take to get troops removed from Iraq and going on with our lives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has proposed a bill that would begin withdrawing troops within a year. What her bill does not appear to include is any sort of plan for how to do so. It seems irrelevant to even discuss her proposal in any detail because as soon as it was announced, the Bush White House said that it would be vetoed if it makes it to his desk.

While I must commend Senator Pelosi on her boldness for making such an attempt at bringing the Iraq war to an end, I also can’t blame President Bush for admitting that he would block such a bill. We’ve been dancing this dance for four years now with senators saying ‘Bring home the troops now!’ The White House responds by telling them it’s not going to happen, and the cycle starts over. It’s been four years, and no one is coming up with new ideas anymore.

Last year we had a special commission on the Iraq War whose job it was to look at what we are doing right and wrong and then report their findings so the President could come up with a new plan of attack. They did so quite well, and all he came up with was ‘SEND MORE TROOPS!’ Now it may just be me, but I think the string they pull to make Bush speak is worn out because that line has been overused.

What I really fear regarding our current situation is that we will continue to argue over a solution for another two more years, and it will be left for the next administration. Not that I don’t think whoever takes office in the White House will be competent, but I worry about how they will address it. I get the feeling from too many of the early presidential candidates that they want to just get the war over with and move on. This is a good attitude to have because that’s what we’ll need to get out of Iraq. That same attitude can come with a sense of urgency and impatience that will not help us get out in a way that benefits everyone.

It occurs to me that in typical discussion of this topic, most writers would propose their own solution addressing how to end the war and get our troops out of Iraq. I will not be doing that because I honestly don’t believe that any one person has the right answer here. I wish it were as easy as saying what we need to do in list form, but it’s not. It will definitely take more than a simple troop withdrawal and hopefully nowhere near as much money as we have put into this failed political experiment. Aside from that, no one is really sure of what it will take to get us out of Iraq.

All I can say is that four more years from now, I don’t still want to be writing about the Iraq War or any similar war for that matter. Whether you’re for the war or against it, want it to end now or ‘finish the job,’ remember to support our troops, bro!