Iraq – An Ongoing Tragedy

It is of course no coincidence that American troops have been “brought home” from Iraq just prior to the beginning of an election year.  Wars and other conflicts are always planned, implemented, supervised and terminated by the ruling political structures.  The goals originally professed therefore generally have little to do with the eventual outcome of the action, having been adjusted to conform to the open (or hidden) desires of the current power structure.

Bears a strong resemblence to campaign promises, does it not?

Certainly the precipitous and poorly thought out withdrawal of American forces from Iraq clearly shows that the outstanding performance of America’s military has gone for naught and that chances are at least even that the Iraq may soon degenerate into the tribal and chaotic internecine squabbling which is the current trademark of so many Middle East countries.

Without the restraining influence of American and other international forces to act as a buffer, the fragile coalition under the rule of Shiite prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is already exhibiting expanding fracture lines.  The Kurds of northern Iraq continue their quest for autonomy.  The remnants of Saddam’s Sunni ruling class continue their contributions to sectarian violence through their increasing bomb attacks against Shia landmarks and population, while al Qaeda is replenishing its depleted jihadist forces throughout the country (with the help of Iran).

Neighboring countries are only too happy to exacerbate the divisions, Iran’s Shia government continuing to expand its influence through Moqtada al-Sadar, Turkey launching excursions into the Kurdish province and Syria sniffing at the doorstep.

The costs of the war in Iraq can be totaled thusly: 4,287 American lives lost and many thousands more wounded and maimed; as of last summer, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that to that point America had spent $709 billion to finance this exercise in nation building, while the Congressional Research Service pegged the number even higher at $784 billion.  These figures are obviously not complete and do not include the future costs of replacing millions of dollars worth of military equipment that is being left behind and will have to be replaced in order to keep the military units involved even marginally operational.

All of this blood and treasure expended to provide the Iraqi government and its people with the arguably-implanted “freedom” to govern, sustain, and defend  themselves while serving as an ally in the “War on Terror”.  Our hasty retreat may well undermine any or all of those accomplishments, despite the hard work and sacrifices on the part of our military.

Nation-building is not a desirable option in this day and age, particularly when dealing with the nearly insurmountable societal problems posed by the tribal mindset of such countries as Iraq and Afghanistan.  Our military has been weakened and our national resolve depleted.    It will take years to restore the damage inflicted upon our military’s human and equipment resources, and the current demands to inflict massive cuts in military spending and readiness could not come at a worse time.

It was a mistake to embark on such protracted military campaigns when more precise and targeted operation to retaliate against our country’s enemies might well have been as effective.  In addition, this is not the time to adopt a Ron Paul-like isolationism foreign policy profile.  All the more reasons to underline our desperate need for strong, intelligent, committed leadership from our political class to reverse the deterioration of America’s strength.

And all the more reason to underline the vital importance of this fall’s elections.

 

 

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