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The Iraq War (a war that Congressman Albert Wynn supported out of political expediency and fear of being wrong) is a very emotional issue for Democrats and Republicans, as well as anti- and pro war constituencies. The Iraq War is not going as well one as predicted before it began and could end up being one of the worst U.S. foreign policy blunders. Not because we may or may not succeed. It is a more a matter of what we have sacrificed in terms of lost diplomatic opportunities, international support, neglect of other outstanding problems in the Middle East, stretching U.S. forces to capacity, diversion of forces and resources from Afghanistan, retribution and recriminations against whistleblowers, attempts to defund the special investigator general for Iraq, and a war that no one who supported the action wants to pay for while driving the nation deeper into record levels of debt. If the war really was worth fighting, then it was worth planning correctly and paying for as we go. How many successful military strategists and commanders assume that everything goes well? I would like to see the U.S. out of Iraq as soon as possible in a way that protects our country's long-term national interest. |
The Axis of Evil
North Korea, Iran and Iraq. How did Iraq become the most dangerous of those three? North Korea already had existing nuclear facilities, as well as thousands of pieces of artillery aimed at 37,000 American troops and Seoul, South Korea. Iran was a well-established state sponsor of terrorism that has been steadily building up its military capacity over the last decade. Iraq had already been hamstrung during the first Gulf War. If we are going to preemptively go to war, I believe that the stakes should be significantly higher with more plausible intelligence. However, I recognize that people of principle who care deeply about the security of the U.S. may disagree.
Iraq and September 11
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It has been repeated as often as possible by some Iraq War supporters that Iraq was somehow responsible for the destruction of the twin towers. It would be accurate to accuse Iraq of supporting terrorism with regard to providing financial aid to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. However, its complicity in the attack on the U.S. has not been proven, even on a circumstantial basis. |
Not Prepared for Victory
Based on the mixed testimony of generals and other people involved in the planning and execution of the Iraq War, it appears that there may not have been a coherent plan for occupying and controlling Iraq once the army was disbanded and the deBaathification process began. Due to a lack of planning, we did not have enough troops for securing Iraqi weapons depots or preventing the mass looting that led to further security problems.
Lowering the Bar
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As the original goals set for Iraq were not met, the bar for success was lowered. Unprepared for occupation, the U.S. is in a waiting game with the Iraqi government, hoping that someone will have the courage to do their job (sort of the same way we feel about the ineffectiveness of our Congress sometimes). If the Iraqi government fails to attempt to build a government for all, not necessarily succeed, but try, then the U.S. will be stuck in a security stalemate, where we keep things from getting worse, hoping that they get better. Unfortunately, hope is the strategy of last resort. |
How Long Will We Be in Iraq?
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It is hard to name a significant military engagement where the U.S. still does not have a military presence. Due to the fact that America is responsible (not perfect, but usually responsible), we understand that we now have a responsibility to try to keep Iraq from unraveling further without a clear idea of how to put it back together. At a minimum, we need to reduce the use of private soldiers for dangerous security details. It is a matter of fairness. Private soldiers are paid multiples of the salaries of our voluntary force.
We need to include the war in the budget. It is fiscally irresponsible to exclude this effort from the standard budget process and continue to submit emergency budget requests. The Iraq War was originally estimated to cost around $200 billion. This war may end up costing us more than $2 trillion dollars before Iraq is a fully functioning, independent and stable nation. This constitutes a significant expense and loss opportunities to invest in our nation's infrastructure. |
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