Letters to the Editor | Withdrawal of American military from Iraq long overdue

There are numerous criticisms I could make regarding Opinions Editor Ross Weingarten’s editorial, “Iraq not yet ready for withdrawal of U.S. troops” (11.3.06 issue of The Miscellany News) column, but I’ll restrict mine to a few salient points:

Weingarten writes that “our troops...do a very good job of keeping Iraqi citizens safe.” Apparently, Iraqi citizens disagree. According to a recent poll of Iraqis by the Program on International Policy Attitudes, 71 percent favor withdrawing American troops within 12 months, 61 percent support attacks on U.S. forces, and 58 percent believe that a withdrawal would decrease violence in the country.

Later, towards the end of his editorial, Weingarten acknowledges that “The war [American troops] are fighting was misconceived, poorly planned, and worst of all, based on lies.” Indeed it was, but more than anything else, this admission serves to illuminate the sheer vapidity and incoherence of Weingarten’s arguments. He suggests that terrorist groups would see withdrawing troops as “a sign of defeat,” without making even the most halfhearted attempt to define “victory.” He argues that if U.S. soldiers withdraw, “Iraq will be far worse off than it is now,” as though the situation in Iraq hasn’t been going steadily downhill over three-and-a-half years of occupation, and that withdrawal will hurt “America’s image,” as though worldwide anti-American sentiment hasn’t already skyrocketed as a result of Iraq. He claims to reject “Bush-like machismo,” but later argues, “we must prove that we will see our mission through.” One would be hard-pressed to find a better example of that term.

After three-and-a half-years and thousands of deaths, the only question is whether Iraq is in the midst of a sectarian civil war, or merely at the brink of it. As the president has indicated by pledging to keep Cheney and Rumsfeld in office, the Bush war plan is simply not going to change, and with two more years of his presidency remaining, the situation in Iraq will surely continue to worsen. Withdrawal may not be an ideal option (and it will almost certainly remain a theoretical one, until at least January 2009), but waiting for Weingarten’s nebulous “right time” to bring the troops home is simply delusional, and continuing to support the failed Bush strategy while the body count keeps rising is madness.

—Nathan Tabak ’08