Reply #14: my plan is immediate withdrawal followed by ... [View All]

[welshTerrier2]

an intensive, UN backed, regionially supported peace process ...

i do NOT agree at all that "The Iraqis who have supported us would probably all be jailed, tortured, or most likely killed." the Iraqis who are currently supportive of the US military presence are primarily those in the majority, i.e. the Shia ... we're helping them push a process that will allow them to dominate "democratic Iraq" ... they comprise the very significant majority of the troops the US is training ... what we're doing in Iraq right now is empowering the forces of fundamentalist repression ...

sitting at the core of any continued US occupation is the hideous truth that we are not in Iraq to help anybody ... in fact, we're not in Iraq even to help the US ... we are there because of the "military-industrial complex" ... we are there to make billions for big oil ... it's been said so many times it may sound trite but bush is in Iraq for regional control and access to oil ... allowing him to remain there achieves nothing but the implementation of his greedy agenda ...

the right plan is for the US to stand up for peace and to demonstrate respect for sovereign nations ... we cannot do either of these things while we continue to occupy Iraq with our military and battle against those fighting for their own liberation from a "democratically imposed fundamentalist tyranny of the majority."

and finally, i disagree with your statement that immediate withdrawal would "provide an even great training ground for terrorists" ... this seems to miss key points from the articles cited in the BP ... it appears that most "foreign fighters", those bush likes to call terrorists, have come to Iraq primarily to fight against the US ... there is very little evidence that Iraq would become a breeding ground for terrorism if the US withdraws ... the reality is that so called "terrorists" are getting a great education in Iraq because the US continues to occupy Iraq ... the argument being made about training terrorists ignores the current reality ... the US is their motivation for being there ... and let's not forget that these foreign "terrorists" represent a miniscule percentage of the "insurgents" ...

again, my plan is immediate, or very near term, withdrawal ... the US can then offer huge amount of reparation support for those willing to seek a peaceful resolution ... and at that point, perhaps a regionally supported process might help implement the rebuilding of Iraq ... at this point, while we remain occupiers, no one in the Middle East believes the US is fighting for the best interests of the Iraqi people ... pulling out our military is a critically necessary first step toward healing the damage we've done ...