War In Iraq
I've done some thinking, heard some surprising facts lately, and I think we could pull out of Iraq within months without throwing the region into chaos. Here's why...
1) Somewhere between 50% to 60% of Iraqs think its ok to shoot at American Soldiers.
2) According to
polls in 2004, something like 71% to 81% of Iraqis view the US as Occupiers and not Liberators.
3) In 2006,
polls say that 71% of Iraqis want the US to leave within a year. Also, 67% of the world's citizens wants the US out of Iraq within a year. 61% of Americans think we should withdraw from Iraq within a year.
Now, I know what is popular is not always right...So,
4) After the British pulled out of Basra, violence dropped 90%. British Commanders report, "Remarkable and Dramatic drops in violence."
5) We've met the original objectives George Bush laid out when we started the War. I think that means we won.
So, the obvious plan is to do what the British did, move out of a location, but continue to train the local police. Bush is pretty good at scaring the public, so he would probably say that if we leave now, Iran will take over. Although Iran could, why would they if it has taken us like 3 days to fight our way to Baghdad in the past? I think our military is better at fighting than establishing an empire
To those who say the Iraqis would slaughter each other after we leave (ala Cambodia in the 70s), I would have to say that the British experience proves otherwise.
Labels: Iraq, War
Mahalo
I went to LABCorp this morning to get blood drawn and I can't think about the experience without the word firebombing coming to mind, so I'll put off writing about the experience until I've calmed down. My day got a little better when I saw these pictures of my cousin Joe, home safe on R&R from Iraq. Enjoy!
Joe arriving in Hawaii
Joe and his Beautiful wife Erica. Apparently, I'm not the only one in the family working out. I guess I can should start sending him junk food again.
Joe, His Wife Erica, and their daughter Skye.
My Aunt Toni and Uncle Ed visiting their son and his family.
Joe, Skye, and his brother Eddie.
Joe waiting for a flight back to Iraq.
Labels: Hawaii, home safe, Iraq, R and R
