Eye On America | Iraq not yet ready for withdrawal of U.S. troops

Ross Weingarten Opinions Editor

For years, those who object to the war in Iraq have been clamoring for the return of deployed American troops. It now seems that the time is fast approaching when they will get their wish.

Recently, General George Casey, the ranking U.S. Army official in Iraq, said that he believes Iraqi forces will be able to take complete control of security measures in the war-torn country within 12 to 18 months. This announcement came on the heels of an extremely bloody October, when dozens of American soldiers, along with hundreds more Iraqi soldiers and civilians, were killed by insurgent attacks.

Casey’s announcement should have been received positively by politicians of both major parties. The top general in Iraq believes that all American troops will be out of Iraq in perhaps as little as a year. Republicans should be thrilled because an end is in sight, justifying their plan. Democrats should be happy because they believe the war is not only killing American soldiers, but damaging our international reputation. An end to the war might mean that America can start to resuscitate its good-guy image. Everyone wins, right? Wrong. Casey’s estimate is not only impossible, it is damaging, a point that President George W. Bush made soon after Casey’s announcement.

I can hear my liberal Vassar friends now: “Ross, did someone slip a drug into your Kiosk coffee? You actually agree with Bush?” Well, not normally, but in this case I do. Iraq is in a state of virtual anarchy right now. Children cannot play in the streets for fear of attack. Shoppers get in and out of markets as quickly as possible in case a suicide bomber decides to show up. And this instability exists not only in Baghdad, but in huge parts of the entire country. While the media only highlights the deaths, either of soldiers or those caused by soldiers, our troops are on a peace-keeping mission, and most of the time, do a very good job of keeping Iraqi citizens safe. American forces leaving would not end this violence, but rather give it even more room to breathe and grow.

It is also clear that the Iraqi forces, while improving, are nowhere near ready to take over control of the tumultuous country by themselves. They need more training, better equipment, and more support. Leaving them now would be setting them up to fail.

Furthermore, setting a deadline for withdrawal will not work because it allows our enemies to smell victory. If we set a date, insurgents will know victory is almost here; once American soldiers leave, they will have a much easier time carrying out their agenda in Iraq. And there is no question that terrorist groups would portray American troops leaving to be a sign of defeat.

It is horrible that so many American soldiers are losing their lives in Iraq (and Afghanistan as well). The war they are fighting was misconceived, poorly planned, and, worst of all, based on lies. American forces were thrown into a new kind of warfare involving guerilla tactics and seemingly endless violence from terrorists that are virtually impossible to distinguish from peaceful civilians. For the most part, our soldiers have performed admirably. Occassionally, they stray from the correct path, as we have seen in the Haditha murders and other such cases. But now is not the time to send them home. My reasoning is not Bush-like machismo; if a withdrawal were the right move, I would be all for it.

Our soldiers cannot leave because if they do, Iraq will be far worse off than it is now. And while the fact that the situation in Iraq will deteriorate is an important matter, it is America’s image around the world, especially the Muslim world, that will suffer the most. If U.S. troops leave today, tomorrow, or any time before the time is right, it will seem as if America threw Iraq into utter turmoil, and then retreated when the situation got too tough to handle. We cannot afford to make more enemies; instead, we must prove that we will see our mission through, even if that mission has not gone according to plan.

I believe that American troops must remain in Iraq until the time is right; what I can’t believe is how much I sound like our president.