Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha
Although the status quo is unacceptable, I do not think that we can simply walk away from Iraq.
If Somalia or Afghanistan looked like terrorist havens, what do you think Iraq will look like post-withdrawal? Iran, and other states, will use Iraq as a staging ground to launch terrorist attacks elsewhere. However, unlike Somalia or Afghanistan, Iraq is not located in some desolate area without any significant infrastructure and far away from large cities.
Although Al Qaeda was not in Iraq before the invasion, they are there now and we cannot simply retreat without emboldening those who think that America is a paper tiger that will run at the sight of blood. I believe that our enemies' resolve to fight is, in part, dependent on whether they believe that we can be defeated. Most think that we will run and lack the determination that they do. The war in Iraq not only affects our present, it affects our future ability to wage wars successfully and our credibility in general.
If people were/are concerned about humanitarian crises like Somalia, Rwanda, Darfur, etc., what do people think will happen in Iraq if we leave? The Iraqi civil war is not going to end, it is going to get worse. I've never understood why some opposed the war in Iraq and supported intervening in Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, etc. (BTW, I opposed both Iraq and all other humanitarian interventions).
What do we do about those hundreds of thousands who have cooperated with the U.S., its allies, or the Iraqi government? They, and their families, are almost certain to be killed in a horrible way if we leave and I do not think it would be honorable to simply leave them to their fates.
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iraq had stability that darfur etc do not. and though saddam killed a lot of his own people, it's not even close to what's been happening in parts of africa (and they have much more primitive armies and populations that would be much more supportive of ending their enduring civil strife, instead of a situation like iraq, were it got made a LOT worse than it was pre-invasion).
btw, the supporters and iraqi employees of the US are already the ones paying the steepest price in lives lost. while leaving would obviously make it much worse, it's not exactly roses right now anyways.