A summer vacation in Iraq?
July 20th 2007 02:31
While I haven't yet seen it confirmed on mainstream news sites, I did hear earlier on a cable news show that Iraq's lawmakers plan to go ahead with that monthlong vacation in August. If that's the case, it'll be exceedingly difficult for anyone to argue that we should continue our full support for the war in Iraq.
For Iraq to have any kind of hope at peace, they MUST come to some political agreements on how to share power, how to share oil revenue, and how to govern in general. A few months ago, President Bush committed additional troops to Iraq in what he termed "the surge". Along with this (and in lieu of a timetable demanded by many), the administration outlined political benchmarks that must be met before we leave. Well, a recent status report indicated that none of these political benchmarks have been met. Now, we hear that the Iraqi lawmakers are taking August off? No. No, sir. That is absolutely unacceptable.
We have troops over there right now -- dying every day -- to help secure Iraq. We are spending close to $2 billion dollars a week in Iraq to help get it up and running. If the lawmakers there have so little regard for the sacrifices we are making as a nation to help them, then I think that we should start pulling troops out the day that they go on vacation. If they take August off, it tells me that either they are not serious about reaching political consensus or that they so loathe our presence there that they don't care what message they are sending by taking this action. Either way, this should be a clear signal to us.
And while I doubt President Bush would be savvy enough to seize on it, this would provide him perfect cover to start bringing troops home. If they don't appreciate our efforts...if they aren't willing to do what's necessary to establish and stregthen their new government/nation, then our presence is no longer serving its purpose.
So we'll keep watching to see what happens in Baghdad. If those lawmakers choose to take that summer vacation, they are cutting their own knees off -- because almost no one will be interested in helping a country that refuses to help itself.
For Iraq to have any kind of hope at peace, they MUST come to some political agreements on how to share power, how to share oil revenue, and how to govern in general. A few months ago, President Bush committed additional troops to Iraq in what he termed "the surge". Along with this (and in lieu of a timetable demanded by many), the administration outlined political benchmarks that must be met before we leave. Well, a recent status report indicated that none of these political benchmarks have been met. Now, we hear that the Iraqi lawmakers are taking August off? No. No, sir. That is absolutely unacceptable.
We have troops over there right now -- dying every day -- to help secure Iraq. We are spending close to $2 billion dollars a week in Iraq to help get it up and running. If the lawmakers there have so little regard for the sacrifices we are making as a nation to help them, then I think that we should start pulling troops out the day that they go on vacation. If they take August off, it tells me that either they are not serious about reaching political consensus or that they so loathe our presence there that they don't care what message they are sending by taking this action. Either way, this should be a clear signal to us.
And while I doubt President Bush would be savvy enough to seize on it, this would provide him perfect cover to start bringing troops home. If they don't appreciate our efforts...if they aren't willing to do what's necessary to establish and stregthen their new government/nation, then our presence is no longer serving its purpose.
So we'll keep watching to see what happens in Baghdad. If those lawmakers choose to take that summer vacation, they are cutting their own knees off -- because almost no one will be interested in helping a country that refuses to help itself.
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