Essay on US Withdrawal from Iraq The WritePass Journal

Essay on US Withdrawal from Iraq Essay on US Withdrawal from Iraq The Bush administration entered the  United States  in an armed intervention of  Iraq, a  war  that leading scholars deemed â€Å"unnecessary† at the time  (Mearsheimer and Walt, 2003). Under the false pretext of a crisis for America’s national security,  and international peace and security in general, because of the perceived threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction – that were never uncovered   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the President decided that armed intervention was the best choice of action.  With the failure to prove any significant  WMD  were in Iraq, the program of the  war  was conveniently shifted to  delivering the Iraqi people from an evil ruler to  democratic order. This process of deliverance, at best a â€Å"stalemate† (Posen, 2006), has seen an alarming loss of American lives and increasing expense of the American commitment in Iraq, while putting severe pressures  on the American economy. At this point,  the United St ates  should look for an exit strategy that totally withdrawals American  troops from  Iraq. At this point, it must be clearly understood that the recommendation  for American withdrawal is not being made on the grounds that going to  war  was itself a bad decision on the part of the Bush administration. Instead, the reasons for a fast and total withdrawal are being made on the basis of America’s long term national interests, and the lives of our troops.  As Posen maintains, the reduction of military, economic and political costs  this shall entail could then be used to  good  effect  elsewhere (2006).  The  war  in  Iraq  has resulted in thousands of American lives lost, and played part in destroying our economy. There still remains  a difference of opinions between the Democratic and Republican parties on this matter, with the Democrats favoring  a more rapid withdrawal and the Republicans making withdrawals contingent upon certain conditions. To elaborate, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had  spoken of a strategy that would help with an expedition of troops and the employment of a â€Å"new diplomatic initiative†Ã‚  (quoted at America.Gov)  asking other countries to help in Iraqs reconstruction. President Obama is still pushing for American troop withdrawal from  Iraq, pulling two brigades out every month and providing $2 billion in humanitarian aid to the  war-ravaged country (America.Gov).  Finally, the Republican position on the matter, Sen. John McCain, remains that the training and development of Iraqi soldiers is vital to an American withdrawal; unless Iraq’s security forces become stronger, the country shall be mired in civil  war  and  fall prey to  the devices of the al Qaeda, deeming the United States’ exit impossible  (America.Gov). From these contrary positions, it is clear that this debate is fiercely contested. One of the strongest cases against withdrawing is that it could lead to  Iraq  going into a civil  war. However, a closer inspection reveals that the conditions of civil  war  are already in existence; with the Baath party’s banned and the advantages of fundamentalist Islamists  due to the  war  has led to a situation of  civil  war. The continued presence of American troops and counter-insurgency operations has been unable to stop this situation, where insurgents target civilians and Iraqis kill Iraqis, all the while putting American troop’s lives at risk.  The civil  war  has already  begun to some degree, and there is no point in continuing  American engagement in  Iraq. Another important argument  against withdrawal, in line with Sen. McCain’s reasoning, is that American forces must only leave Iraq  after ensuring  that  Iraq’s security forces are competent enough to maintain order. The progress for Iraqi security forces is slow and has a long way to go. Continued American presence only makes things worse, because Iraqi politicians do not feel compelled to resolve Iraq’s issues and  poor  attempts at making improvement, have given the US existing cover. All this has done, is  produce a culture that is dependent on American assistance which, the  more  it continues, can only be harmful to  Iraq  in the long  term. Some suggest a time-bound  withdrawal  of American troops from Iraq.  Others argue that an American exit from  Iraq  at this moment would increase the growing influence of terrorists in the country, while severely undermining the stature of the  United States  in the eyes of the world. However, this is far from the truth. Firstly, the point about terrorists is a double-edged sword and is a risk that must be taken. While a withdrawal may indeed give some power to the terrorists in  Iraq, it is important to note that the continued American presence has given the al Qaeda  a reason to continue attacks on America troops . In fact, pulling out of  Iraq  may encourage the Sunnis to take the offensive to the al Qaeda and its sympathizers (Posen,  2006). Secondly, it is foolish to expect that an American withdrawal can change things, to any considerable degree.  As William Welch argues, this image of the mighty U.S was already in question once it launched an unwarranted preventive  war, and  got  further tainted when it delayed the involvement of the United Nations and other willing countries to aid of the reconstruction of Iraq. In addition, recent studies argue that the moral  backbone  of the  US,  which promotes the pursuits of democracy and liberation of  other countries as ethical responsibilities, is in itself very narrow-minded (Welch,  2010).  Instead of worrying about the U.S’ credibility over withdrawing from  Iraq, it  may, in fact, strengthen the U.S image somewhat. Finally, another important – but shaky – argument against withdrawal is that a rapid exit after such a long battle would severely demoralize the American troops. However, as Lt. Gen. William E. Odom observes, nothing could be farther from the truth: â€Å"Hiding behind the argument of troop morale shows no willingness to accept the responsibilities of command. The truth is, most wars would stop early if soldiers had the choice of whether or not to continue. This is certainly true in  Iraq, where a withdrawal is likely to raise morale among  U.S.  forces.† (2006) Thus, it is safe to say that the opposing arguments of American troops’ withdrawal do not hold much weight. But, it must be remembered that the case for a well-planned exit strategy does not only rest on this negation of contrary arguments. It is also supplied with the important consideration of America’s best interests; these are what we must now investigate to insure the withdrawal. America’s key interest  in the Persian Gulf region  is that of oil, although contrary to popular belief, the interest is not of control, but of ensuring a regular supply from the Middle East to the United States; also making sure that political adversaries do not gain control of these resources to the detriment of the US and other areas of the world dependent on energy supply from the  region  (Posen,  2006).   Stopping the ties between terrorist organizations and state administrations is also an important issue becauseâ€Å"†¦we have learned from the alliance between al Qaeda and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that it is unwise to allow terrorists to get a foothold in a sympathetic state from which they can propagandize, recruit, organize, train, and plan  in relative security.†Ã‚  (Posen,  2006) The concerns of oil are shared by many countries and most of them would be willing to contribute to a solution, which could also be done through the U.N. Even if the  U.S  is required to maintain an active deployment in  Iraq  due to such a turn, it shall still be many times smaller than its current  operations. Furthermore, the outcome of an Iraqi civil  war  would, in all probability, be a stalemate – a result most  favorable  to American national interests (Posen,  2006). The best way to expedite this situation is to pull out of  Iraq. The worst possible thing of this stalemate could be an intensification of al Qaeda operations in the Sunni-dominated areas of  Iraq; however, as discussed above, this is a contentious issue, and it could very well be the  US’ troops themselves which are causing such a calamity. In conclusion, it is important to look at the more vivid reminders that urge for an American withdrawal from Iraq.  The unabated loss of American lives in  Iraq, since the launch of the  war, ran close to 4,400 deaths in  December, 2010; this number is far greater than those resulting from the offensive in  Afghanistan,  totaling  501 deaths in  over seven years (White,  2011).  The economic downturn for the  US  because of the  war  in  Iraq  has been immense  too, stretching well beyond $900 billion as early as January 2011.  In light of these facts, it is  increasingly difficult to argue against an American withdrawal from  Iraq. In the best interest of servicing  America’s military, political and economic interests,  the arguments against withdrawal only seem to justify the continuation of poor policy choices, and it is in the  US’ best interests that a plan for military disengagement from  Iraq  be devised without  hesitation or  delay. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Posen, Barry. â€Å"How to disengage from Iraq in 18 months.†   Boston Review. Jan. 2006. 18 Mar. 2011 http://bostonreview.net/BR31.1/posen.php 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   America.Gov â€Å"Election 2008 Issues† 7 Mar. 2008. 18 Mar. 2011 america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2008/March/20080307131621liameruoy0.4348108.html 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mearsheimer, John J. and Walt, Stephen M. â€Å"An unnecessary War.† Foreign Policy. Jan. 2003. 18 Mar. 2011 mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/walt.htm 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  White, Deborah. â€Å"Iraq War Facts† About.com. 2 Mar. 2011. 19 Mar. 2011 http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Welch, William M. â€Å"Fight a Thousand Battles† USA Today. 2010. 22.Mar.2011 http://usacac.army.mil/blog/blogs/fight/archive/2010/07/23/doubts-about-u-s-tactics-shadow-war-in-afghanistan-by-william-m-welch-and-jim-michaels-usa-today.aspx