R.E.: I completely agree…
R.E.: I completely agree that invading Iraq was a mistake and that the U.S.’s continued presence there isn’t helping things, but that does not mean our presence there isn’t critical or that we don’t owe it to the Iraqis to try and fix things.
If the U.S.’s continued presence there admittedly isn’t helping things, how do you expect them to go about trying to fix things, at this point, by staying in Iraq? How is that a better strategy than trying to put out a fire you set by dumping more gasoline on it?
What do you mean, “We”? I don’t owe a cent to any Iraqi, and unless I’m mistaken neither do you. I, at least, opposed this war and this occupation from the start, and neither I nor you played no role in launching or sustaining it. The criminal gang that launched this disaster of a war owe quite a bit to quite a few Iraqis, but continuing the bloody occupation is no way to pay down that debt, and they certainly have no right to try to pay off their debts on my dime.
R.E.: We need to clearly define to the Iraqi people the terms under which we will stay in Iraq.
The U.S. government has no moral authority to define any terms “to the Iraqi people,” whether they are clear or unclear, short-term or long-term. It is, after all, the Iraqis’ land that they are on, and not the U.S. government’s. As invaders, their duty is simply to remove themselves from the invaded territory as quickly as possible.
Anticopyright.