Views on the Middle East
Are you fed up with the one-sided news and analysis you see presented on channels like Fox and CNN? Are you looking for an authentic voice that understands what's going on in the world today...that doesn't mince words or get lost in political correctness? Then let me recommend Mr. Ralph Peters to you.
Please follow this link to check out his view on current events in Palestine and Iraq.
He contributes a regular column to the New York Post, and has also authored several books. I can only vouch for the non-fiction ones, based on his opinion articles, which are quite excellent. Whether you consider yourself a political liberal or conservative, you owe it to yourself to check out his work.
Since you're asking, here's my two cents: I did not support President Bush's invasion of Iraq. The Bush administration knowingly "spun" and twisted information provided by the intelligence community to make the case for war. Unfortunately, we can't turn back the hands of time. I willingly served eight months over there trying to make things better. My wife will shortly depart for Baghdad to serve six months to make her contribution.
We're partly to blame for the current security mess in Iraq. A result of ousting Saddam (inarguably a good thing) and releasing the pent-up sectarian pressure without enough boots on the ground to contain it. But Iraqi Sunni and Shia alike need to look themselves in the mirror...America isn't to blame for their sectarian revenge violence.
It's time for the US to implement a plan to withdraw the large number of Americans currently deployed there. Not all of them, but a large number...say 50,000 by this time next year and another 50,000 the year after that. (Although realistically nothing will happen until the Bush Administration leaves office.) We can continue to provide training and air force support for another few years, but it's past time for the Iraqi security forces to stand up and be counted.
Iraq's future hinges on successful internal political compromise amongst multiple overlapping, competing factions and the further growth of Iraqi security forces. History (Saddam's decades of misrule marked by torture, violence and oppression) is against them. And so much hatred and violence has been released it seems doubtful it will be contained anytime soon. However, a continuation of the status quo: 130,000 US troops grinding away year after year is not a stategy for victory, but a failure of imagination.
PS. I try to avoid making promises I can't keep...but I will leave the subject of Iraq alone for at least the next three months.
Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler, the most decorated Marine at the time of his death, wrote on our trend toward engagin in these kinds of conflicts:
http://www.helmsmansociety.com/Issues/2006/warisaracket091406.htm
The disillusionment of American soldiers should be acknowledged and focused on things here that matter most:
http://www.helmsmansociety.com/Issues/2007/disordered041507.htm
Posted by: Daniel Newby | 18 June 2007 at 01:01 AM