Should the US withdraw from Iraq?

Question

(in the immediate future)

Yes, No, or Undecided?

Answer 1

Yes! if you think it's worth being there then you should be on the frontline with the Marines!

Answer 2

There is no easy solution to this problem. They shouldn't have been there to begin with. I believe it is fair to compare this quagmire with VIETNAM. That country was also a mess. Shoud we have stayed there indefinitely? The sooner we get out the better. We need to enlist the help of the neighbouring countries and prop up security in Iraq. This has to be the number one priority. Security. Train as many police and military officers as possible and give them whatever they need to restore order in the streets. This is the number one request by normal hardworking Iraqis. Vietnam is now a stable thriving country.

This will not happen tho because the US is there to control the oil reserves to meet their demand and profit from it once PEAK oil hits. They are building 14 permanent military bases in the country. Operative word 'permanent'. The whole thing was about oil. Not terrorism or weapons of mass destruction. The US has no other choice. They need this oil. What they should have done since the 1970's is focus on alternative energy sources, improved efficiency and conservation to wean themselves off a depleting resource. However this policy shift stopped when Ronald Reagan ripped the solar panels off the white house in a very symbolic gesture.

Answer 3

Should we withdrawal or just keep pissing into the wind and acting like targets? Tough question. I guess we just wait for the government of Iraq to stand-up and take control of their country. It's like watching someone below poverty level trying to save enough money for college.

Answer 4

No.

Direct quote concerning Islam from Al Qaeda:

"If America will not convert on its own, we will eventually become strong enough to topple the government and convert America and her people by force."

And from Bin Laden:

"The operations are under preparations and you will see them in your houses as soon as they are complete."

Given the fanatical tactics and resolve of these terrorists, can we really afford to ignore these threats?

Answer 5

No. To do the cut and run would be a total disaster. They deserve a democracy and they deserve to be able to leave their homes and not fear the other Muslim group.

Answer 6

Not until the job is done. It was a mistake to go in but we can't bail out now.

Answer 7

As soon as reasonably possible,

but reasonably is not soon

Answer 8

Hell no! The only thing worse than going over there (I feel it was necessary) would be to back out.

Answer 9

(I'm going to paste a recent answer of mine that was directed at a question about being proud of the Iraqi War and a solution to it because I think it also applies to your question)

Before I answer this question, I'd like to bring up something that really bothers me deeply concerning Iraq, would we be so regretful if we had successfully converted Iraq to a democracy with complete peace?

The question I have been screaming BEFORE the war started has been, "Does the means justfiy the end?" What if this end had been a success? Would most be sitting around feeling good about America?... feeling good about themselves? ... even though current civilian Iraqi body count is over 600k?... even though we never had a valid nor justiable reason to occupy Iraq?...

Of course you know my feelings on this... immoral means never justfiy an end even if that end is successful. What about all those ppl that have died? What about the loyal, committed soldiers that followed their country's orders... not just American soldiers btw.

So once again, we should not take any pride in any way, shape or manner for our leader's invasion of Iraq.

Is there ever a time to take pride in participating in a war? I think so. I did an Army tour in the mid-80s then when Saddam invaded Kuwait, one of our allies, I volunteered to come out of inactive status to participate. Why? Because I truly thought we, as a WORLD, had progressed past the days of barbaric occupations of invading just because you are stronger than the other guy. I took pride in that war because I compared it to a bully beating up a little child... that we were fighting the bully. Now, we are the bully.

I can't begin to describe in words the disappointment I have in my country due to our actions. And what gets me now is the length of time it took ppl to come to this realization. I was a voice from the beginning saying it was wrong... most of these ppl against it now were the ones in 2003 with those ribbons on the back of their mini-vans, American flags outside their homes... telling me I was anti-American or unpatriotic for not supporting my president.

I'm serious. How many of you out there reading this either didn't have an opinion or was pro-Iraqi war because you thought it was going to be a cake walk? You were so sure we would just walk over the Iraqis and be the WINNERS. You never stopped to ask about our reasons... were they justified. America is going to war and we are going to kick some *** then come home like nothing winning.. showing the world 'who we are'.

For example, that Cindy Shehan (spelling) that camped outside of Bush's home in Texas in protest of the war AFTER her son died in Iraq. Where was her protest before her son died? I'd be willing to bet that up to that point, she was one of those ppl driving those mini-vans proudly with the ribbons on the back before that.

Some ppl compare Iraq to Vietnam. While I see some comparisons, believe it or not, Vietnam at least had a reason. Vietnam was about containment. Containment is a word used to describe the stopping of the spreading of communism of that era. While I never saw how the spread of communism threatens us, at least they gave us a real,honest reason.

Now to get the core of your question... what should we do now, knowing what we know now about the lies?

Up to a week ago, I was on the fence about this. I literally could not decide. On one hand, I don'f feel good about making a mess of their country, the 100,000s that have died then leaving them to somehow find a way. On the other hand, I was thinking we couldn't win... win in terms of ever helping those ppl to 'get along' in a civil manner.

I have since, just in the past few days, come to a realization... we need to get out. Why and what caused my choice, decision?

It all came together for me a few days ago when I read about some Shiites that had kidnapped 25 sunnis, took them into the streets and then burned them alive. Not only did they do this, Iraqi troops stood by and watched and an American helicopter patrolling took no action.

This action was not the reason I made my decision but it is what caused me to sit down and do some deep thinking... how or what made Iraqi get to that point?... not just killing each other in a civil war but my God, literally torturing each other in the streets in the most brutal manner possible... right in front of women, children, etc...

We are not talking about terrorists... we are not talking about insurgents.... these are the Iraqi civilians that we are there to help build a civilized democracy. Their level of discontent is beyond most American's imagination... that was part of my thoughts in my analysis.

In conclusion and to get to the point of my answer, we need to get out for two reasons:
1. We can not solve their civil war.
2. We are making it worse by being there.

#2 is the most important reason for withdrawal. We turned their country upside down and caused 100,000s of them to die. If I thought for half a second we could fix what we have done, I would be a 110% supporter to stay and fix it; but, that is not reality. The reality is that the longer we stay, the more they resent us, the more unrest there will be.

There is going to be a civil war whether we are there or not. Because we can not pick a side, there is nothing we can do to stop it.

Note: Have you heard the latest that more Iraqi civilians died in October than any month since 2003.. the year we invaded.

Lastly, I am not saying that we pull a Vietnam and pull out without any assistance at all. I think we need to discontinue military support and start a humanitarian and financial support. Anybody can be bought. I think that is where we have failed with other groups such as Hamas. Hamas's animosity towards Israel comes mostly from their resenting Israel's success while they suffer an enormous unemployment rate. You can't tell me if we threw money at them, they wouldn't be more apt to chill out and at least listen.

With all this said, the core final solution to this problem is to divide Iraq into two maybe three countries.

Note: last week on PBS, there was a segment about how 70% of Iraqis have moved from their homes into new areas in the past year.

So, since most of them have already moved, it's not like we would be uprooting them from their homes.

And since they are doing this on their own, I'd be willing to bet if we presented this solution to them where maybe we enforced their borders, I'd bet you money they would take the offer. Then after the borders were decided on.. which wouldn't be real easy but at least would probably temporarily move their focus from a civil war to this idea, then we could fund each segment.

Some might not like the idea of throwing money at them. I say it is a lot cheaper in the long run than paying billions for military action, it is a set answer and it saves lives on both sides.

One last point or note, many Washington analysts are saying we will not be in Iraq two more years. Why? They are saying there is no way the Republican party wants to be in Iraq when the next election comes around.