Listening to the presidential candidates debate one another on the subject of the Iraq war has prompted many concerned citizens to consider the status of America's current policy in the Middle East. Chief on the minds of many Americans is the question of the feasibility of a full-scale disengagement. Barack Obama has promised to pull our troops out of Iraq by 2009, while John McCain's platform seems to rest on his ability - or lack thereof - to convince the public that not only is our policy in the region succeeding, but that we would need to continue to "stay the course" in Iraq in order to guarantee stability in the Middle East.
These two diametrically opposed points of view literally constitute the boundaries of the great divide in the culture wars currently sweeping our country. More and more, the situation is being seen as eerily familiar to our country's foreign policy during the Vietnam War era, with the politics of fear dominating popular discourse on the subject. The argument against a pull-out is based around the fear that leaving Iraq would cause massive instability in the region, which directly parallels the belief, propagated in the 1970s, that pulling out of Vietnam would leave the door open for other South-East Asian nations to fall under the "iron curtain" of the Soviet Union.
We have the advantage of hindsight at this crucial moment in United States history, and can look back with clarity on the post-Vietnam era, in which nations such as Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia can be shown not to fall victim to this fate. In this vein, it appears unlikely that similar predictions pertaining to Shia uprisings and a power vacuum in surrounding Middle-Eastern countries will come to fruition in the wake of a United States withdrawal from Iraq.
The fact of the matter is the United States has found itself in the middle of a complex civil war in the wake of the ousting of dictator Saddam Hussein. This conflict between Shia and Sunni Muslims, the two dominant religious sects in Iraq, seems unlikely to be resolved until American soldiers have left the country, as their presence there is one of the chief causes of unrest amongst most Iraqi citizens. Concerns over the increase in terrorist attacks in Iraq have also been widely skewed by political rhetoric. Contrary to the view of the current administration, it appears unlikely that these terrorist attacks are being perpetrated by Iraqis themselves. Rather, many of these attacks are being orchestrated by Afghani terrorists, who can easily cross into Iraq through the porous border. Contrary to what the administration would like us to believe, the Iraqis do not support these foreign terrorists, who only contribute to the climate of instability and terror in the country. However, since most Iraqis' number one concern lies in freeing the country from an unwanted American influence, it is doubtful the population will be motivated to take action against these foreign militants until after our troops are withdrawn.
On a note that hits a bit closer to home, the Iraq war continues to be one of the most expensive of America's policies. It is literally bankrupting our nation's treasury. At a time when we have already incurred massive amounts of debt to the Chinese, we simply cannot afford to continue with such a foolhardy and costly endeavor. A pull-out would save our country hundreds of billions of dollars annually, which could be used more wisely to further failing domestic quality of life programs.
Of course, many Americans feel the question of whether to pull our troops out of Iraq is less important the question of our justification in invading the country in the first place. Our unilateral decision to embark upon Operation Iraqi Freedom is seen by many as a thinly veiled attempt at cultural imperialism, if not a downright slash and grab for Iraq's valuable oil reserves. In short, the war's fundamental moral rationalization has been called into question, and that question is being continually deflected or dodged by the current administration.
The bottom line is our presence in Iraq, at this point, accomplishes nothing short of lining the pockets of some Americans who have invested in shady contracting companies such as Halliburton and Blackwater, whose activities in Iraq are questionable at best, if not downright illegal and amoral. While, admittedly, America's image in the international community is at an all time low, there is no question our decision to remove troops from Iraq at the earliest possible date would improve our standing in the global community immensely. It's time to start thinking about what's really important. Continuing to finance a war that, for all intents and purposes, will only end when we decide to leave, would be the single most shortsighted decision thus far in the twenty-first century.
