Re: If we leave Iraq...
[QUOTE=superdave;444497]what would happen?
The Democratic talking points appear to be American troops cause the unrest and when the occupation ends then we'll see Iraq calm down and root out Al-Qaeda.
The Republican and Presidential talking points are that it'll be much worse if we leave. And the terrorists will come after us in our own country. Fight them over there instead of over here.
Who's right or is there something both parties are missing?[/QUOTE]
They are both partially right and partially wrong, IMO. I think if we leave, it will be followed by a bloody civil war resulting in the deaths of countless people. Of course, that's happening anyway, so I'm not sure that can be avoided at this point.
One thing that will happen if we leave -- these folks will be forced to figure this problem out, whether through military, diplomatic, or even geo-political means. I don't think US troops are the source of the unrest, but their presence does take some of the pressure off of the Iraqis to try to find a solution. I do think that US troops being there pushes an eventual resolution into the future, partially because I think that the ultimate solution is to partition the country -- US troops, however, simply provide military support, which gets in the way of that sort of geo-political solution.
I have the feeling that the only reason we're still there is either because Bush is too pigheaded to realize that he can't be the solution, or because he so desperately wants to avoid the perception of failure, he's willing to endure the slow burn on our resources to save face. I really hope it's not the latter, but it wouldn't surprise me.
At the end of the day, we have succeeded in our goal of removing Saddam from power and liberating the Iraqi people. We have also unleashed a centuries-old conflict that was only being held in check by Saddam's oppressive rule and that will continue to result in significant bloodshed until the Iraqis realize that the solution is not a military one. Getting our troops out of there is one way to push them towards that realization.
There are no easy answers, that's for sure. No matter what we do, many, many more people are going to die. We ultimately need to make a determination as to whether us being there leads the Iraqis closer to resolving this conflict. I don't see that we do anymore.
I dunno, though. It's an extremely complex problem that belies talking points. What's worse is that we've got a guy in charge that is not sophisticated enough to be up to the task before him.
My. $.02 as of this moment. I reserve the right to change my mind on this, though, because on the question of whether we stay or go, I change it all the time. It's a really brutally tough situation.