2008 Woodie Awards
The importance of sticking to our guns in Iraq
Ian Parker '10
Issue date: 1/24/07 Section: Opinion
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Three years and 3,000 lives later, Iraq seems to be spiraling into an ever more abysmal mess. Civil war has taken hold, insurgents are getting ever deadlier, and corruption and favoritism is strangling Iraqi politics, driven in large part by the worsening sectarian divide between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. In looking at the facts it is very tempting to conclude that nothing more can be done, and that American forces should leave the country before it completes its cycle of self-destruction. This instinct to leave, though, is wrong. Experts agree that to leave the country now would be to consign it to chaos and continued civil war, with Sunni Arab fighting Shi'ite Arab in the streets of Baghdad and ever-worsening economic disaster sweeping the country. In the face of such challenges, it might be generations before Iraq can recover. This atmosphere, moreover, would be the perfect one for al-Qaeda to re-emerge. One final calculation must also be included: as goes Baghdad and Iraq, so too will go the dream of bringing democracy to the oppressed Middle East. For these reasons, the government's decision to send more troops into Iraq must be welcomed as our last chance to halt the steady slide of the country into anarchy. As order spreads, the elected government of Iraq will have one last chance to truly unify the people.
Before the invasion of Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell warned the president that "If you break it, you own it." It was meant to remind President Bush of the possible consequences of invading the country. Today, though, it can serve to remind all Americans of the responsibilities that we undertook when we brought down Saddam Hussein. We all knew that occupations are never easy, just as we all knew that Iraq was a potential powder keg in the Middle East. However the invasion was misrepresented and however many mistakes were made during the occupation, we all knew that the ultimate responsibility for the country now lay with us. Leaving when we have not fulfilled our obligations and when there remains some hope for fixing Iraq would be irresponsible.
Before the invasion of Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell warned the president that "If you break it, you own it." It was meant to remind President Bush of the possible consequences of invading the country. Today, though, it can serve to remind all Americans of the responsibilities that we undertook when we brought down Saddam Hussein. We all knew that occupations are never easy, just as we all knew that Iraq was a potential powder keg in the Middle East. However the invasion was misrepresented and however many mistakes were made during the occupation, we all knew that the ultimate responsibility for the country now lay with us. Leaving when we have not fulfilled our obligations and when there remains some hope for fixing Iraq would be irresponsible.
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