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Political |
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On September 10th the
President of the United States said Iraqi national elections will occur
in January of 2005. On September 16, the President said national
elections are scheduled for January while noting ongoing acts of
violence in Iraq. The President, moreover, told supporters that
“this country [Iraq] is headed toward democracy." The President’s
optimistic outlook came at the same time the intelligence community
released its National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq. According to
the National Intelligence Estimate, Iraq is headed toward several years
of turmoil, with the darkest alternative being civil war. The report does not
support the President’s view that Iraq is headed toward democracy. The
National Intelligence Estimate shows America is heading for a long,
violent conflict in Iraq. The United States is
spending $200 billion on this war, a war without a clear plan of action.
The President is not outlining an exit strategy, a sound plan to
establish democracy or a plan avoiding a degradation of conditions
leading to civil war. Each day brings
continuing bad news about Iraq—news showing a degradation of
conditions. On September 12, the New York Times Service reported
"United Nations Secretary General says war on Iraq was illegal.”
On the same date, the Associated Press reported "gun men kidnapped
two Americans, Briton in Baghdad.” On September 16, Knight
Ridder reported "US troops find three decapitated bodies near
Baghdad." September 16, 2004, also brought news from
the New York Times that US intelligence offers gloomy outlook for Iraq,
reporting that the National Intelligence Estimate outlines three
scenarios from "a tenuous stability to political fragmentation and
the most negative assessment of civil war..." Finally, on Saturday,
September 19, 2004 Knight-Ridder newspapers reported "Iraq violence
continues to escalate." With gloomy headlines
hitting us on a daily basis, Americans must ask themselves whether the
war in Iraq will result in optimistic results or whether Iraq will end
up in a violent civil war. Are we heading for another Viet Nam? Admittedly, the world
is better without Saddam Hussein. However, the world is not better
if we continue to sink into the quagmire being created in Iraq.
Without a sound exit strategy, people will continue to die, tax dollars
will continue to be spent, and instability will continue to grow.
There must be a plan for stabilization and exit. Under current
conditions, we cannot expect this President to provide us with a plan of
stabilization and exit, not when he blindly claims that the Iraqi people
are on their way to democracy; particularly when it appears that the
people of Iraq are on their way to civil war. Stuart James
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