And Then We Can Come Home
Hopefully, even the most peacful of activists knows that we can't just pick up and leave Iraq on a dime. The last thing we want/need is a chaotic scenario that resembles the fall of Saigon. Unlike the aftermath of the invasion, it has to be strategized and planned so that both our troops and Iraqis are safe and that there is some semblance of stability. General Wesley Clark has a few thoughts. Will anybody listen?
"But in calling for an immediate withdrawal, the peace movement can’t duck a central question: Just how do we leave?
On Friday, Sheehan appeared on a Congressional Black Caucus breakfast panel with General Wesley Clark, the former NATO commander and presidential hopeful, who was there to address the issue of whether the U.S. can 'win' the war in Iraq.
'We’re involved in a war that we didn’t have to fight. That’s the simple truth,' Clark said. 'Now it’s in trouble, deep trouble. I wish it was just as simple as saying, Mr. President, you made a mistake, get those troops out now.'
The trouble is, he continued, that the Islamic extremists 'really do want to attack us. Getting out of Iraq will be a great defeat for us unless we do it in the right way.'
Clark said the anti-war movement should demand that Bush establish a 'regional dialogue with other Arab states, including people we don’t like, like Syria and Iran,' and focus on 'changing the minds and cutting off the recruiting' of those now blowing up tanks and buses in Iraq.
'We need to turn off the flow of weapons and fighters going into Iraq and turn off the invective and fears and create a climate where the Iraqis don’t need to fight each other,' he said. 'And then we can come home.'
I just wish that everyone who had a suggestion contrary to the President's didn't get beaten over the head with "We aren't going to cut and run. We are going to win." speech. No matter when we leave, insurgents of some type are going to be trying to bomb us on the way out. I think people need to understand what winning is and be prepared for the fact that all still probably won't be well in Iraq or the region.





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