In yesterday's post, we spelled out a strategy to defeat the islamic terrorists who are intent on the destruction of Western Civilization.
Before we get into the strategy for extricating ourselves from the incredible quagmire we have created for ourselves in Iraq, we'd like to take this opportunity to address some of the objections bound to be put forward to some of our assumptions. There are those who will maintain that the success of the strategy hinges upon making economies of scale real for hydrogen (fuel cell) technology. At present, fuel cells are not feasible economically due to issues of internal structure that are critical to the entire process of unleashing energy through deconstruction of the water molecule.
Another issue is that of distribution. Essentially, there are very few "hydrogen stations" where vehicles can take on the propellant, just as there need to be gas stations for our current vehicle fleets.
Without making light of these objections, (these are very signifigant issues, there can be no doubt.) we maintain that they are not insurmountable. Rather, we believe that any nation like ours (indeed, uniquely like ours) with such a wealth of research and development 'muscle' can tackle those issues straight on, and given sufficient motivation (money and national survival are very good motivational energies), produce workable solutions in the near term. After all, this is the nation that, when challenged by then President John F. Kennedy, put a man on the moon and returned him safely in less than the time line proposed.
We believe that a nation with virtually no knowledge base in 'space medicine' as it was called, that can acheive a task of such magnitude, is certainly capable of overcoming challenges of the magnitude we've mentioned. Our knowledge base of fuel cell technology is far advanced compared to our then knowledge base of space medicine. Those of us who were around in those days recall the urgency given to project Apollo. This nation had a goal considered crucial to future survival and we all pulled together to make it reality.
The question then becomes one of, "Can we do it again? Can we do this in order that our nation and society survive this onslaught from cold-blooded killers who are fully committed to wreaking death and destruction on the free world? Are we prepared to make the sacrifices necessary in order to defeat this stated enemy of Civilization?" To me it seems that Americans have the needed resolve and strength of character to prevail.
We should understand that this conflict is not going to be fought on conventional battlefields, where humans kill one another with weapons. This conflict will need to be fought in the arena of international commerce. We shall need to defeat the enemy on economic terms (much like we brought down Soviet Russia) rather than military. The Soviet Union fell (imploded economically, really) because our economy was stronger, more resilient than the collectivist model that was followed by the Soviet Union. It was much like a high-stakes poker game where we forced our adversary to go 'bust'. 'Busting' the economic support system that makes the madrassas viable is much more preferable than sending our young men and women (as well as young men and women from other partner nations) to fight and die in our enemy's arena. Thus, our strategy is to fight smarter rather than fight harder to defeat our foe.
And now we come to our proposal to extricate us from this incredible quagmire that is Iraq.
We cannot undo what has already done. We have invaded a country that basically was not a threat to us. A country that had no weapons of mass destruction, as alleged by our leaders. A country that did not have the technology to transfer WMD's to other 'rogue states' as claimed by the Neocon cabal that controlled the government and kept the wool pulled tightly over the eyes of a press establishment grown fat and lazy, and thus incompetent to the task of informing the citizenry. Let us not forget either, that we, the American people 'built' Saddam Hussein. In 1983, The United States supplied Saddam Hussein with all the military hardware needed for him to fight a war with Iran. This was the United States policy under...Ronald Wilson Reagan. We built a ruthless tyrant who had come to power only four years earlier after sacking the government of his own father.
There's a lot of past history that can be unearthed and discussed. It can (and probably will) be done on this site at some point in the future. Today, we are focused upon our exit strategy.
It should not be that difficult to come to agreement once some very pertinent facts are brought to the fore.
According to a poll conducted by the University of Maryland, 71% of Iraqi citizens want us out. That same poll supports the "insurgency", giving it 61% approval. What part of "We despise America and want American troops to leave" don't we understand?
Recently, I received an email from Michael Moore. He states that the only realistic course for the United States to follow is to leave Iraq. The sooner, the better, in fact. Like it or not, our troops are smack dab in the middle of an all-out civil war. We cannot stop Sunni and Shia from killing each other. Their emnity goes back over a thousand years. Not understanding their culture (tribalism) blinds us to the reality that they shall have to settle their scores. After the bloodletting is through, and the two tribes are war-weary enough to come to a cease-fire, the United States can perhaps return and assist in the reconstruction of the country (or, more accurately, what is left of the country), offering first, our deepest, most sincere apology for triggering the war that will ultimately leave over half a million dead and hundreds of thousands as refugees living in other lands, like Syria and Jordan. There are those who consider Michael Moore to be a fool, a dolt, a traitor and various and sundry other defamations. It's strange, don't you think that over 50% of Americans now consider the choice to invade Iraq as a strategic blunder. Michael Moore was saying that even before the first bombs fell on Bagdad over 3 1/2 years ago.
There are many who will maintain that pulling out of Iraq precipitously now would cause the total collapse of Iraq society and make that country a haven for terrorists and terrorist trainers. Here's a clue: that is what is happening in Iraq, on the ground, TODAY. Like it or not, the civil war in Iraq is now full-blown, feeding upon it's own energy and cannot be stopped, no matter if we were to inject 20,000 or 50,000 or even 100,000 new troops tomorrow. Attack and reprisal are now the law of the street. The only sane thing for the United States to do is to withdraw the thousands of young men and women with targets on their backs; do it as quickly and safely as possible, notwithstanding the conditions on the ground.
One thing is certain about the withdrawal of American forces. They will no longer be targets for Sunni or Shiite death squads or makers of IED's (Improvised Electronic Devices, the deadly little bombs that are so lethal that they take more American lives than anything else, save snipers).
What is not certain is how long the civil war will continue. With American soldiers out of the way, there is a small, almost microscopic possibility that Sunni and Shiite factions may decide that they can now talk to each other, given that "the infidels", as our fighters are called, are gone. In the final analysis, they are going to have to talk to each other and come to terms as to how power will be allocated within their country. Ultimately, the Kurds will have to be beckoned to join the discussion; they've secured their portion of Iraq and have both a stable, representative governing council and a highly motivated self-defensive force to safeguard their citizens.
We've heard about the findings of the ISG (Iraq Study Group); how the best minds were brought together to chart a change of course in Iraq, one that would hopefully allow the United States to extricate itself from this godawful mess. Occasionally, we even hear a slight few words having the ring of truth, such as, "...there are no good options, only (options) less bad than the worst options..."; hardly ringing endorsements, wouldn't you agree?
We dare say now what few others will speak today, but more will come around ultimately, It is time for our noble troops to return. Let us all be thankful that they had the courage and the intestinal fortitude to fight in a place foreign to our cherished love of freedom.
Today is Monday, December 11th, 2006; only 769 days to go until the end of the Bush administration.
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