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Jewish World Review June 22, 2005 / 15 Sivan, 5765 There's only one reason why we should remain in Iraq By Ed Koch
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The tide of public feeling against the war in Iraq is rising as casualties increase. On June 16, The New York Times reported, "In a recent Gallup poll, 6 in 10 Americans who responded said the United States should withdraw all or some of its troops from Iraq." In May of this year, 80 soldiers have been killed and 551 injured. Since the first day of the war in March 2003, 1,719 military personnel have died and 12,896 have been injured.
Just as members of Congress did during the latter years of the Vietnam War, they are now forming small caucuses advocating different approaches to expedite the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. The Judiciary Committee reported out a bill to the floor of the House of Representatives which includes an amendment proposed by Congressman Joe Crowley of Queens, New York, who is on the committee. While not fixing a withdrawal date, he requested that the Bush administration devise an exit strategy. An administration spokesperson responded with the now standard response that "the best way to honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform is to complete the mission."
Other congressmen have proposed that President Bush announce by the end of 2005 a plan for withdrawal from Iraq that would begin by October 1, 2006. Included in that group are Walter Jones (R-NC), Ron Paul (R-TX), Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), and former democratic presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).
A generation ago, I was a congressman during the Vietnam War which I opposed. I introduced a resolution stating that whether members of congress were for or against that war, we acknowledge the war could not be won and that we should bring home our troops to reduce American casualties. That resolution was never voted on. Ultimately President Nixon ended the war in 1975 in a way that will forever be remembered as a defeat for the U.S. and a victory for North Vietnam. All will recall the images of the helicopters taking off from the embassy roof fleeing Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City).
I believe the time has come for the U.S. to declare victory in Iraq and to exit honorably, having achieved our original goals. We have defeated Saddam Hussein on the battlefield, ending his ability to wage war against his neighbors or against the U.S., either by the use of conventional weapons or weapons of mass destruction.
We also have facilitated the establishment of an interim Iraqi government recognized by the United Nations. That reconstituted government recently held a hotly-contested, democratically-conducted election which produced an independent government that has the power to direct U.S. forces to leave. Instead, it asked the U.S. to stay and use its military personnel against the insurrection and terrorism.
The vast majority of U.N. member states continue to refuse to dedicate troops to assist the new Iraqi government and the U.S. in their efforts to defeat the insurgents and terrorists. The troops raised by the democratically elected Iraqi government currently number 165,000, while the insurgents and terrorists are thought to number between 12,000 and 20,000. When Saddam Hussein was in power, his army numbered over one million.
Foreign soldiers and terrorists, many from Saudi Arabia, have used the Syrian border as an entry point into Iraq. Present military efforts to stop them, using the combined forces of the Iraqi and American military units, have been described by U.S. forces as successful to date. However, American military observers have noted that while the Iraqi and American forces are able to take and hold areas at the Syrian border and elsewhere in Iraq, when they leave to quell the violence in other cities, insufficient forces remain to maintain control of the recently-pacified areas.
Having accomplished our original goals, we should advise the U.N. and Iraq that we will begin withdrawing our troops in August 2005 and will be out of the country by the end of this year. We should also advise the U.N. that we are prepared to stay in Iraq, provided the Security Council creates a U.N. security force comprised of troops on a proportionate basis from every member of the U.N. Security Council to support the Iraqi Army with boots on the ground beginning in August 2005. It should further direct that U.N. member states will proportionately provide the Iraqi government with monies needed to rebuild the country.
In addition, Iraq's neighbors should also be required to provide troops and funds, whether or not they are members of the Security Council. The New York Times reported on June 19 that "The leading countries of origin (of the foreign fighters) are Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Sudan." Those countries have a stake in a peaceful resolution of the conflict over rebuilding Iraq and supporting its newly elected government.
The American people have been willing to bear their share of blood and money to fight international terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere. Our casualties to date establish our bona fides. However, the American public is not willing to continue that ongoing battle and suffer ever mounting casualties without the aid of those who have also received the benefit of our actions. I support the war in Iraq and the larger war against the Jihadists who use terrorism around the world to achieve their goals. But I do not believe that we should remain in Iraq unless others who have a responsibility to do so step up and contribute their fair share to the war effort.
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JWR contributor Edward I. Koch, the former mayor of New York, can be heard on Bloomberg Radio (WBBR 1130 AM) every Sunday from 9-10 am . Comment by clicking here.
© 2005, Ed Koch |
Mitch Albom | |||||||||||
