The cruel crude facts about Iraq today

It’s a mess. Half the problems today are caused by how the “win the peace” has been prosecuted by the D.C. crowd, Executive and Congressional and hired minions (though the D.C. crowd would say managed vice prosecuted). Poor successive strategies, lack of unity of effort by the various bureaucracies based in D.C., and the poor oversight and head knocking by the President are the main culprits. The other half of the problems are from our enemies there. They are the historical fighting Iraqi factions born out of the legacy of creating an Iraq out of Mesopotamia; and the Iranian support of these factions as well as Al-Qaeda using all its outsider suicide bombers. Back last spring the Iranians let it out that they would conduct a summer campaign in Iraq to influence the Congressional vote, and now they are doing it. Some group(s) are paying for all this opposition, so half the mess is a funded hot war against us.

The latest strategy out of D.C. is sticking. It is a strategy about we in the US, and our way of life and benefits. It is not about an Iraqi democracy intent. It is about our established democracy. The strategy is to fight them there (they are many in numbers and origins) to best preserve we and our way of life here. Historians can write about all the interim more idealistic and even some more exploitive strategies, but these are all in the past. The latest strategy also finally recognizes the Iranian regional war going on since 1979 (when the mullahs evicted the Shah) has finally gone overt and more in the open.

Nobody expects the US to be in Iraq fighting forever, especially since we won the war and are now fighting for our future peace. We have little precedent for what to do, though the Brits do during their mandate time in the same area. The main friction here in the US is mixing apples and oranges, or the past with the present. Now that the most basic strategy has evolved and is sticking, it dictates not treating the Iraqis as equals, but dictating to them. And it dictates no safe havens for the Iranian war both in Iran and Syria. And it dictates a time, though nothing as silly as Congress trying to mandate an “announced” time. Just plan a time, and execute.

Given keeping a withdrawal schedule secret is probably not politically sustainable, then we go the Brit route. Make the schedule smart from our point of view, and announce it. But certainly stop the Iranian influence in Iraq as their part of their regional imperialistic efforts and Persian empire revivals. Our allies need this.

Stopping the Iranian influence in Iraq is cheap talk for going to war, assuming diplomacy fails with these masters of manipulation. This war would be small, as is Iran, and occupation is not involved. They are probably in a high hover as they try get over the near term hump in asserting themselves and their regional hegemony and their nuclear goals. If we want out of Iraq, which we do, we must take care of the Iranian problem (they started) along the way.

So there it is, the cruel crude facts about Iraq. We will pull out sometime, that’s a no-brainer. There will be massive immigration problems we should plan for. But if we do it best we will do it based on the local situation and not US congressional politics; then we should also be safer at home.

The difference in the time schedule possibilities is probably a matter of a year, maybe even months. The reason for waiting is the President’s choice of his current military commander and his Ambassador. Both are sharp as tacks, and should be provided the chance to do their best for our benefit.