Wouldn't the withdrawal of troops from Iraq be a cold hearted decision?

Question

I know Congress voted to go to war in Iraq, which further increased the instability of that counrty. Even more so than it was before we invaded. Even if this was a mistake. Then don't you think it would be cold hearted to withdraw our troops and make the Iraqis deal with our mistake?

I'm trying to be serious, so I hope to get some serious answers. Nonsense rants and name calling will be ignored and not taken seriously.

Answer 1

Withdrawing our troops is the worst thing we could possibly do. Politics aside, we absolutely can not leave Iraq until it's stable enough to defend itself. If we did it would just turn Iraq into a neo Afghanistan where terrorists operate with impunity.

Leaving Iraq prematurely will have several very diverse effects on the region and our country. First, it would embolden the terrorists, whose sworn mission is to destroy the "Western Demon." Leaving Iraq will most certainly not make them stop coming after us, it will only lead to them coming after us more feverishly.

Secondly, it would discredit our military and our status as the world's only superpower. This would lead to other countries (such as Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela etc.) thinking they can do what they want with out fear of reprisal. Certainly North Korea would start selling it's nukes to other terrorist friendly nations (Iran and Syria come to mind) and Iran would immediately take control of Iraq and most likely go for Kuwait next.

Thirdly, this would most likely throw the Middle East into an all out war as Iran and syria said they would step in to defend the Sunnis if the Shiites started killing them. This would draw in Kuwait, Saudi and the U.A.E. who are all Shiite. Turkey hates the Christian Kurds and would go in to try and kill them, which would draw in other countries to defend them. Needless to say, with all of the oil rich countries going to war, prices would skyrocket and the gas prices people were complaining about last year would become fond memories.

The problem is one that must be fixed before you leave, lest we suffer the dire consequences. Sadly, too many people today refuse to see these very real consequences of pulling out.

If the media and the politicians on both sides of the aisle would just let the commanders on the ground do their job this would all be over much quicker.

Answer 2

Possibly. But these options are never tried: it is either full scale war/occupation, or nothing.

We mustn't forget that the current "insurgency" is largely, if not entirely, in response to the US presence. This was certainly the impression of my cousin, serving in Iraq in 2003-04. Thus, removing that presence removes the oxygen for the insurgency. Secondly, why not put these questions to the Iraqis? In some areas the troops will be wanted, in others not? Why not put the question to the troops?

Any way, a withdrawal would certainly cause bloodshed in the short run, but at present it is like a bottleneck, and probably more are dying than would in a withdrawal situation.

We must surely realise that a continued western presence both exacerbates the problems, and puts our own societies at incalculable risk. A UN peace keeping force, on the other hand, MIGHT be preferable to some people.
We are only there to guard the oil wells, any way.

Answer 3

Not only Cold Hearted but Lilly Livered and Brainless.
Cold Hearted because we already abandoned the Iraqi people once during the first Gulf War when we pulled out of Kuwait just when the Iraqi people were emboldened to fight Saddams Regime shoulder to shoulder with us.
We are in todays situation because we did not have the resolve then to complete the mission.
The Left would have us now revisit that mistake. They seem to think Islamic Fascism will simply disappear if we simply take on a state of denial.
Lilly Livered because this is how the World will percieve America if we tuck tail and run.
And finally Brainless, because as I illuded to earlier. Ignoring the threat of Islamic Terror will not make it go away.
The only reason were still in Iraq is because we have yet to fight this War with the intensity that it needed.
If we had faced Communism with such kid gloves our Stars and Stripes would have become a Sicle and Hammer long ago.

Answer 4

That assumes that having them there does some good. Note that some of your answerers are sure that the majority of Iraqis want us out. Almost everybody I know who's been in-country says the Iraqis want us to stay. We're left here at home trying to make intelligence estimates based on very limited information. Do we believe the Administration's position? The media's? Both have a history of being wildly inaccurate, but my personal bias is that of my age (Vietnam era). ABC and CBS were to a large extent responsible for our loss there and for the deaths of untold numbers of innocents, so my tendency is to be skeptical but put a bit more trust in the Pentagon.

Answer 5

It was a cold hearted decision to send our troops there in the first place. The reasons given were Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, was a threat to the United States and Iraq was a part of 9/11. All untrue. It was never stated we were going there to fight terrorism. Using the thinking process of the Bush administration shouldn't we be invading Iran, Syria, Lebanon, North Korea, China and a host of other countries? History has shown this region has been in conflict for thousands of years. What did we really hope to accomplish by occupying their country, other than to create ill will towards our country? It was and continues to be a fools mission. Our staying in Iraq will only cause more Americans to die, nothing more.

Answer 6

It would be- but for ONE thing; we're gonna have to do it sooner or later anyway... -And how many American & Iraqi lives are you willing to sacrifice in the MEANTIME, for a result that's going to be the same??? We are pouring Billions of $$$s into the sands of Iraq, and watching dozens of people die day after day, month after month, going on 4 years now... -At WHAT point do you say, "Enough!"? 5,000 American dead? 10,000?? And what about the animosity we're creating across the Middle East? Sooner or later the terrorists we're "growing" over there- are going to come a-calling... What then?- Blame Iran or Syria & up the ante a whole bunch more? There's something WORSE than "cold heartedness" to be considerd here... -There's letting a failed policy continue- & get worse. We've created a monster; it's time we stopped feeding it.

Answer 7

When is enough enough!!! There are no winners in war, never was never will be!!! Our presence there is like a grain of sand in an ocean!!! There is only one choice now, and that is to withdraw and hope and pray that we made the best choice under the conditions and circumstances that exist and have continued to exist since we went to that part of the World!!!! Expect the worst, but hope for the best!!!!!

Answer 8

Have we been attacked in out homeland since we took action on the attackers? No. Then how was it a mistake to get the crazies out of control. Yes the war is not being handled in the ways it should have, and it would not just hurt the good iraqis if we pulled out it would devistate the US because the terrorists would have a new home to organize and build in without watching their backs.

Answer 9

Congress never "voted to go to war", they voted to allow bush to use force if he deemed it necessary

And as far as leaving being a "cold hearted mistake" you have to consider: will our staying there accomplish anything? will leaving make the situation worse than it already is? do we have the assets in Iraq to insure success? could our forces be used more efficiently to fight terrorism? is staying in Iraq simply resulting in the Iraqis becoming dependent on us to fix their problems for them? could threatening to withdraw result in them making a stronger effort to take charge of their own destiny?

Answer 10

Yeah, it would lead to a humanitarian disaster. That being said, nobody has suggested withdrawing the troops. Congress is debating sending more troops.