The Lose/Lose Situation Of Iraq

The idiocy of invading Iraq outdoes anything this country did in Vietnam. But what do we do now? No doubt there will be an all-out civil war if we leave. There's civil war already. The question is, can our continued presence prevent an all-out civil war, stop the current civil war, and give some stability to the country?

Pulling out will create just as big of a power vacuum as when we invaded and toppled Hussein. Many will die. If we stay, we're trying to stop a pressure cooker from exploding by sitting on the lid. Many will die, but not as many at one time. Unless the pressure cooker blows up. Then death will run rampant, on all sides, for all concerned. And what about Turkey, Iran, and any other nation that wants a piece of the pie, or the whole thing? It's possible that civil war would be the least of Iraq's problems if other nations get involved.

Our nation is facing some very difficult questions. As much as I have been and remain against the Iraq fiasco, I also think that we owe the Iraqi people more than just destroying their country and then leaving them to the wolves. But I really doubt if this administration and this congress will ever do anything about it. Their main considerations are personal and party politics. Point the finger at each other, discredit the other, take power away from the other, get the hammer and then sit back on their asses and do nothing.

Will it finally come down to choosing between the Iraqi people and our troops? Is there any other criterion that needs to be considered? It will be irresponsible if we pull out. It could be just as irresponsible if we stay. The invasion from the very beginning was irresponsible. But most DC politicos don't seem to have a real sense of responsibility anyway.

Is there another alternative? As there are now more military contractor personnel in Iraq than U.S Military personnel, pull out all regular military and let the mercenaries fight. Let Erik Prince's boys, the ones that pledge to uphold the constitution, the American Way, Apple Pie and God, do the fighting and dying. Won't do a thing to help the world view of the U.S., but this administration doesn't give a damn about that anyway. At least our government service folks would be home. The problem with that is I believe that it would delight this administration. No problem with civilian interference, the lid could be kept on, kick out all the journalists, just have the taxpayer pony up the money to pay the Bear Claw boys. And with this option, many will still die. Perhaps more than the other options. With no accountability for killing, anyone suspected of being 'the enemy' would indeed be the enemy, and be shot. Not to mention it would free up our troops to be re-deployed heaven only knows where.

All the choices are ugly. All the choices will not stop the dying, and some may increase it. Shall the choice be made by not how we can stop the killing, but which choice will result in the least amount of death?