Victory
In Iraq?
By Adil E. Shamoo
& Bonnie Bricker
24 June, 2007
Fpif.org
While the American people are seeking a way to bring
the troops home from Iraq, the President and his administration are
aiming to stay for much longer by redefining “victory” in
Iraq once again—this time as a permanent occupier. Defense Secretary
Robert Gates told reporters on June first this year that he favors a
mutual agreement with Iraq in which “some force of Americans...is
present for a protracted period of time....” Lt. Gen. Raymond
Odierno, in charge of daily military operations in Iraq, supported this
idea, comparing our involvement in Iraq to our continued military presence
in South Korea. This type of “victory” was not what America
signed up for as Bush led the nation to war. But even worse, this victory
isn’t even realistic.
The cold-blooded realist,
Henry Kissinger, told the Herald Tribune in April, “A military
victory...is not possible.” The National Intelligence Estimate
(NIE) of last February said for all practical purposes that defeat was
inevitable.
Instead of listening to Kissinger
and others who argue the war is lost, Bush is changing strategy to “go
long.” “Going long” includes permanent U.S. military
bases in Iraq and a permanent presence in the Kurdish region; the largest
embassy fortress in the world at the heart of Baghdad; and U.S. oil
companies reaping the rewards of Iraqi oil.
Even if Bush’s much
touted surge of 30,000 troops helps temporarily, it will not work under
a permanent occupation. A large nationalist, anti-occupation, peaceful
movement exists in Iraq. The nationalists’ movement wants to free
Iraq from the military occupation but under the right conditions they
are ripe to cooperate with the United States to rebuild Iraq. There
have been many demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of Iraqis asking
for a peaceful solution. These Iraqi citizens are asking for what we
promised—freedom and democracy—not 50 years of occupation.
Unfortunately, the administration and the media has ignored this possibility,
instead concentrating on the suicide-bombings and the al-Qaeda elements
in Iraq.
Emerging from the mess in
Iraq is another ominous message: “going long” might mean
supporting the Shiites over all other ethnic groups in order to “win”.
The conservative columnist Morton Kondracke (the executive editor of
Roll Call, the Capital Hill newspaper) wrote in his May 15 column in
the Examiner that we should “back Shiites” and “win
dirty” with the implications of an ethnic cleansing of the Sunnis.
Kondracke’s hope is that by supporting the moderate Shiite Maliki
government, we will carry enough favor to keep them in check against
Iranian interests.
Kondracke and those calling
for permanent occupation as a solution are blind to what’s transpiring
in Iraq today. Operations in Iraq have detained nearly 18,000 people
since January. Over the course of this war Iraqis have suffered every
indignity of war. Their homes have been invaded. There are kidnappings
and murders. Four million Iraqis are refugees. Life for many Iraqis
bears no resemblance to life before our invasion.
For more than four years,
Iraqis have been punished for having a miserable despot as their leader—a
circumstance far beyond the control of the average Iraqi. A long term
occupation and backing one ethnic group will only continue these injustices.
Victory in Iraq should begin
with a sovereign government in Baghdad. No military bases signifying
occupation would exist, and diplomatic relations would be signified
by a smaller scale embassy in Baghdad. Iraqi oil, belonging to the Iraqi
people, would be contracted with anyone the Iraqis chose, as a sovereign
nation negotiating the best deal for their country. While the American
people can live with this outcome in clear conscience, it is doubtful
that the Bush administration and the large contractors involved in Iraq
will give up their victory without another war on our hands.
Adil E. Shamoo is a professor at the University of
Maryland School of Medicine. He writes on ethics and public policy and
can be reached at: [email protected].
Bonnie Bricker is a freelance writer.
Copyright © 2007, Institute for Policy Studies.
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