After more than five long, bloody years in Iraq, the United States now might have an actual strategy for success within the war-torn nation.
Finally, this week’s report to President Bush and Congress from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group has provided the administration and the nation with a vital assessment of the reality of the situation in Iraq, as well as attainable recommendations for cleaning up the mess and getting out.
As can be seen on the ground in Iraq and throughout international and national media, the situation in Iraq has deteriorated with increased violence and bloodshed.
This report has finally acknowledged our nation’s failure to succeed in Iraq.
According to the report, attacks against the United States and coalition forces have been “persistent and growing.”
On top of all the troop injuries and casualties, nearly 3,000 Iraqi civilians are dying every month.
I hope this report will encourage real progress in stabilizing and rebuilding Iraq through some crucial provisions.
Firstly, the report calls for an end to the administration’s ridiculous “stay-the-course” policy.
If all the dead soldiers and civilians, the nonstop, increasing violence and the complete lack of progress of democracy in Iraq weren’t enough to show the United States we weren’t doing the right thing, maybe having down in writing that the situation is “grave and deteriorating” will incite a change in strategy.
Secondly, the report calls for direct talks with Iraq’s neighbors.
While the United States shouldn’t ever expect to be good buddies with Iran and Syria, it is vital to consider their role in establishing and maintaining stability within Iraq.
It does no good to rebuild Iraq if its bordering nations are not there as support for sustaining peace and democracy within the country.
Lastly, the report makes strides in determining just how quickly we can pull our troops out of Iraq.
Though it does not mark a timetable for troop redeployment, it states, “The United States must not make an open-ended commitment to keep large numbers of American troops deployed in Iraq.”
Calling for an end to our current open-ended commitment is the first step in actually jumpstarting the process of getting out.
In all, the war in Iraq should not have come to where it is today.
All the same, we can’t waste any more time sitting on our haunches waiting for the mess to clean itself up.
We now have a comprehensive report and recommendations to bring Iraq and ourselves out of the dire straits we are in, so let’s use them and end the war.