Can we really have lasting military success in Iraq without making any serious political gains?

Question

Does anyone think that we can end this conflict with military might alone?

We are faced with a lack of commitment from Iraq's neighbors:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/31/us.mideast.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText

We are faced with a lack of responsiblity from the fledgling Iraqi government:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291364,00.html?sPage=fnc.world/iraq

For those of you who think that opposing this war means 'asking for failure' and 'not supporting the troops':

Aren't we already failing on all of the fronts that we need to have success in if we want the efforts of those brave men and women to come to fruition?

And is doing a poor job in every other area of this conflict
(reconstruction, regional aid and support, and diplomacy, etc.)
a much larger show of lack of support than bringing them home?

Answer 1

Analogy...

Iraq has become our adopted stepchild..... At some point this kid has to move out and start paying their own bills. Yes, they will probably ask for money later to help pay the rent...they may get kicked out of their apartment for getting to crazy and their neighbors will complain alot... But after they fall on their butts a few times...they will grow up and move on....and start enjoying their freedoms and taking responsibility for themselves..

But, if this kid lives in our basement too much longer...it will take forever to them to grow up and move out, and we will be flat broke. Then we'll have to refinance everything again just to make ends meet.

Answer 2

No I do not agree. We all have something to gain from a stabilized and US Friendly Iraq. Yes it sucks we were led into this regime change on the pretense of the existence of WMD, now proven to be a lie. Yes it sucks that we have fed our kids into a meatgrinder. Yes it sucks that we underestimated the resistance that has sprung up over our occupation of their country. And yes it sucks that we destabilized the country and the two major Muslim sects are too bone headed to just round up all the extremists themselves and get their nation on the road to recovery. And lastly, it really sucks that nobody, from either side of the aisle here in the U. S. has a legitimate plan for solving the problem. So unless you do, I say let's get our kids home where they are safe and let's think about this awhile and maybe, if the Iraqi people can't get a handle on the situation, maybe we go back. Maybe. It's their country, let's give them credit for being intelligent human beings and see what they come up with. And let's hang our carrot of guaranteed aid for the legitimate U.S. friendly government they assemble when it's over. If the roles were reversed and they were occupying us, you and I both would be screaming Iraqi go home.

Answer 3

I think you are way off base on your complaints. A military victory is being achieved. The Iraq army is up and running. When the Colonies went to war with England, only about 30% of the colonists supported the rebels. It took over ten years from the time the Declaration of Independence was signed to the time the US Constitution was written.
If you don't like the speed the Iraqis are moving, file a complaint with the government. That is no reason to cut and run. Leaving is the cowardly thing to do. It would accomplish nothing. Try not to be scared.

Answer 4

Of course Iraq's neighbors don't support it. If you were one of it's neighbors (of which not ONE has a representative or democratic government), would you want a functioning and free democracy right next door. That's when your people will start asking questions like "They have that, why can't we?" Those insurgents who come from other nations to Iraq to fight us know that, and are trying to install another Islamic Theocracy that will support their power base and keep the citizens in line.

We're not losing the war, just like we weren't losing in Vietnam. We have lost 3,000 men, and by most estimates have killed or captured more than 40,000 enemy combatants. Why is the 3000 quoted EVERY day by liberals, but never the 40,000? In layman's terms, that means we're killing more than 10 of them for every one of our guys that dies. Considering we're the third largest nation in population (and the two above us aren't Muslim), that means that even if we continued for 200 years, they would be gone LONG before we were.

Another thing you don't see or read about is the fact that the average Iraqi is getting pretty pissed off about radical Muslims blowing up buildings every day. A LOT more pissed off than they ever were at us for taking out Saddam. They are turning in suspected terrorists more and more every day, and showing trust and cooperation with our troops (something we NEVER enjoyed in 'Nam). These are good people, who deserve a chance at something better than going from one dictator to another. We owe them that chance.

Answer 5

Your question as stated is:

"Can we really have lasting military success in Iraq without making any serious political gains?"

And the answer is yes, military success in Iraq does not depend on political gains. Military success is preventing casualties and acts of terrorism in Iraq. No political action is necessary to carry out that mission.

I think you mis-wrote what you intended, I think you want to know if political success is important, and yes it is. Probably the most important thing, really.

"Aren't we already failing on all of the fronts that we need to have success in if we want the efforts of those brave men and women to come to fruition?"

No, military is looking better. We cannot control Iraqi politics, we have to let them sort it out.

"And is doing a poor job in every other area of this conflict
(reconstruction, regional aid and support, and diplomacy, etc.)
a much larger show of lack of support than bringing them home?"

Ummm, no. Reconstruction, regional aid and diplomacy is their job. Again, we cannot make them do that. Our job is to simply police the area and train forces to replace us. Their political and military conditions will determine when the conflict ends. Anyone who is impatient is encouraging American defeat.

Answer 6

We can have neither political gains nor military success in Iraq. The whole scheme was destined to fail from the beginning. This administration has subverted the false lessons of history taught to us from equally corrupt prior administrations and constructed a new war out of it to maintain global hegemony.

Answer 7

I think you pose a good question to start with, but it should be defined as to what constitutes "military success" and what is meant by "political gains"

Otherwise you will end up in a vicious cycle of political rhetoric that spins around and around and around until people throw up their hands, walk away, then come back and ask themselves the same questions over and over.

I hope you get your answer, good luck.

Answer 8

A government, military or police force can never be successful with out the support of the people.

Answer 9

The type of success that comes from military might alone is not something we can ethically do.. yes it is achievable, but we would be no better than the terrorists if we were willing to achieve it that way. In the end it will take a lot more than our military to create lasting progress.

Answer 10

It is possible to pacify a country without it's political cooperation - but no one is trying to do that in Iraq.

We obviously can't have lasting political success without making some political gains, but that's a tautology.