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Salvaging the Iraq War

Submitted by Brad Arnold, Jul 24, 2007 01:25

Mr Pipes correctly predicted the quagmire we now find ourselves in Iraq, but his prescription for the future (redeploying to desert bases) is not the best course of action. A couple years ago, I too was prescribing a redeployment, and furthermore, I bet that will be the future course of action taken by the new President. Replacing bases in Saudi Arabia in the MIddle East was probably a main reason Bush ordered Iraq preventatively invaded and occupied. Unfortunately, our botched occupation has so alienated the Iraqis that continuing our occupation, albet from a distance, will continue to fuel the insurgency. Besides, predictably we will continue our heavyhanded interference in Iraqi affairs, so the only advantage to redeployment is minimizing American casualties, which isn't the exclusive problem of the "war," but only the main symptom of our failed occupation. The cure for a failed occupation is withdrawal, no matter how humiliating, or how strategically important Iraq is to control.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
This column reflects 20th Century thinking. Mr. Pipes is inrelligent and knowledgeable about the Middle East, but he does not see... [MORE]	bob	Jul 25, 2007 01:03
Using the noun "war" as it applies to Iraq is inaccurate if not deceptive. Iraq did not declare war on... [MORE]	L Kamren	Jul 24, 2007 01:46
So why double speak about winning and losing- we lost- we'll leave sometime as the loser- we should lose- its... [MORE]	h wolters	Jul 24, 2007 01:34
I distinctly recall on television, shortly after American troops "took" Baghdad, a group of Iraqis holding up a sign which... [MORE]	Ed Leczek	Jul 24, 2007 01:29
Mr Pipes correctly predicted the quagmire we now find ourselves in Iraq, but his prescription for the future (redeploying to...	Brad Arnold	Jul 24, 2007 01:25
I too had advocated a change rather than full pullout. This change would include unraveling the former dictator's changes like... [MORE]	Mark	Jul 24, 2007 01:23
There are more than these 2 positions outlined. The 3rd, and by far largest position, is that the invasion was... [MORE]	Daniel Kasak	Jul 24, 2007 01:21
So we deploy to the dessert, how many American troops will die with us hunkered -down in these dessert bases, and... [MORE]	Bob Pattillo	Jul 24, 2007 01:16
General David H. Petraeus wants one more last chance and an additional $250 Billion till the summer... [MORE]	Jim Frego	Jul 24, 2007 01:11
This guy is pretty proud of himself, talking about something that happened 15 years ago. He was right all along!... [MORE]	Dan	Jul 24, 2007 01:04