Thu
Jan 18 2007
09:34 am
assertion of sovereignty
By: rikki

At one point during this war our exit strategy was 'Iraq will ask us to leave as soon as they are ready for us to leave.'

Iraqi leaders say the recent arrest of several Iranian diplomats by Americans violates sovereignty. It sounds like they might be ready for us to leave. Until Iraq's parliament votes for U.S. troop withdrawal, they can not claim to be sovereign.

I'm sure we have just cause for detaining the Iranians. Between Iranian espionage and all the missing money, oil and materials in Iraq, there's plenty of just cause to choose from.

If Congress wants to do something constructive toward bringing troops home, it should ask Iraq to hold a vote on whether we should leave. If they vote yes, we can leave. If they vote no, our continued presence is validated and they will have gotten a taste of that freedom America is famous for.

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rocketsquirrel's picture

brilliant

Submitted by rocketsquirrel on Thu, 2007/01/18 - 10:17am.

well thought, Rikki.

however, it belies the fact that what this administration really wants is the Iraqi oil supply and permanent bases. Not sure how the Iraqi parliament would go on that vote. Might be likely to get a yes vote on the US leaving over chants of "Muqtadr, Muqtadr, Muqtadr."

I'm not as big a fan of "leaving" as I am of reducing the hostility of our footprint. We're now a police presence, and that is not effective utlization of our forces.

At the risk of looking backward, it is virtually impossible to re-apply the Powell Doctrine after the fact. If we wanted to go into Iraq, we needed to use overwhelming force and have an exit strategy. We did neither. This now puts us in the position of tying down our forces, unable to insert them into other regions of the world should the need arise.

The US screwed the pooch on this one, and the world knows it.

rikki's picture

I don't think anyone is

Submitted by rikki on Thu, 2007/01/18 - 3:23pm.

I don't think anyone is naive enough to believe that our withdrawal would be absolute. The terms of such a pullout -- establishment of bases, retention of advisors or a small security force, etc -- could be negotiated after a formal vote requesting withdrawal.

A vote of the Iraqi parliament would go a long way toward establishing the will of the new Iraq as an important element in the equation along with the will of our Commander in Chief. Such a vote would do good things for Iraqi hearts and minds by giving them a sense of independence and resolution, even if they decide they are not yet ready to grasp that independence. A vote would also completely rid us of the notion that withdrawal is defeat or that our continued occupation is unwelcome and imperialist.

I would think Bush would welcome a request for a vote, as it would take the onus off of him. He could even request it himself and not wait for Congress to act.

Rachel's picture

Requires sanity to consider

Submitted by Rachel on Thu, 2007/01/18 - 5:15pm.

I would think Bush would welcome a request for a vote, as it would take the onus off of him. He could even request it himself and not wait for Congress to act.

Unfortunately, Bush has none.

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