Sunday, April 22, 2007

Time To Leave

As reported by the New York Times, online, Bahaa al-Aaraji, an Iraqi legislator associated with Shiite cleric, Moktada al-Sadr, said Americans troops should stay in Iraq no longer than two more years; but, he qualified his time-table by saying that the Iraqi security forces had to be well-trained before the Americans left.

“’In order to drive out the occupation, we need to build up the security forces; then we can have a timetable,’” said Abdul Mehdi Mutairi, one of Mr. Sadr’s top political officials.

These “Sadrists,” according to the article, play a political game of denouncing all things American while cooperating with the Baghdad pacification program.

“[al-Sadr] has become a great improviser, the Miles Davis of the war.

He publicly courts anti-American Sunni nationalists while his Mahdi Army militia kills Sunni Arabs. He denounces Shiite groups backed by Iran while he is said to be hiding in Iran and taking instructions from clerics there. He promotes Shiite unity while Mahdi fighters battle other Shiite groups in cities across the south.” Again, NYTimes, online.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is also a Shiite, won’t set a deadline for U.S. withdrawal. He stopped building a wall between Sunni and Shiite areas in Baghdad at the request of Sunni who said it would isolate them. At the same time, Arab leaders pressured him to step up reconciliation efforts to include Sunni insurgents if he expects regional, largely Sunni Arab, support as reported by the China Daily, online.

The Sunni insurgents of course keep on killing, Shiites, Americans and other Sunnis. Sunni leaders have pretty much boycotted Iraqi politics. San Francisco Chronicle, online.

The Kurds? They’ve pretty much solidified their hold on the north and are for the most part sitting out the conflicts in the south.


In the meantime everyone is trying to kill everyone else. We have become enablers of this craziness.

I think, all this will continue to happen as long as we are there. It may well continue to happen when we depart. If that’s the case, the only difference will be Americans aren’t a part of the death tolls. But, maybe if we leave, not in two years or when security is achieved, now, the players, Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and their respective supporters in the region will have to figure out what to do with the mess a bit more quickly.

Staying doesn’t seem to be leading to any positive result. It’s time to go.


4 comments:

Hedy said...

Amen, Dave.

Anonymous said...

I think the only politician advocating withdrawl is Dennis Kucinich. The others are all saying "redeployment," whatever the hell that means.

Monica said...

This war has affected all of since it began...some more personally than others and I say that meaning some have had husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers deployed.
I'm not happy with the Democrat or Republican side over this war. I'm sure not thrilled with Sadr or any of those guys at all.
I'm told I can't be objective about the war because of my sons. I'm told I can't be objective because I'm a Democrat. I'm told I can't support the troops unless I support the war.
Baloney. It's time to come home and concentrate on Afghanistan and Bin Laden. I've been personally affected by the war since the very month it began. The armor problem? While we were a Republican Congress.
I kept my faith in the Man upstairs because yes, the Man in the White House has let us down. I voted for him because Kerry scared the hell out of me-better the evil we know than the one we don't.
But Iraq is a personal vendetta, only it's our kids who are paying the price.

Dave said...

thomas, I think redeployment is slower than withdrawal given what I heard in the way of sound bites from the candidates. At least it's a longer word. That's my logic.

Monica, I don't think Bush has a vendetta going, I just think he didn't and doesn't know where he's going. In a bit over his head.

Amen, Hedy.