Thursday, January 04, 2007

Let the Iraqis decide our "exit strategy"

As the nation mourned the death of former President Gerald Ford, I reflected on how much he differed from the current White House occupant and on how the situation in Iraq might have been different had Ford been President in 2003. Ford was an intelligent, congenial and truly compassionate man who had been personally exposed to warfare. He was always open to the opinion of others and willing to admit mistakes. In private, he opposed the Iraq invasion, believing that it had no bearing on U.S. national security.

George W. Bush, on the other hand, is a stubborn, arrogant and intellectually incurious man who is in over his head as President. He is responsible for an unnecessary war that has caused the death of more than 3,000 American troops, the maiming of even more soldiers, the waste of at least a trillion dollars, and has provoked an Iraqi civil war in which our armed forces have become policemen and referees.

Moreover, the war has hampered the vital and more legitimate battle against radical Islamic terrorism. Now the President is considering a move to deploy more troops in Iraq, an action that will make our plight worse. Our armed forces face opposition from both Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias. And Iran--a member of President Bush's celebrated "axis of evil"--has become a power in Iraq.

Since the start of the war in Iraq, the Bush Administration has made a big deal of its feat of arranging unprecedented Iraqi elections that led to the creation of a constitution and the selection of a parliament. Now a far more significant election would be to allow the Iraqi people to decide whether they want the U.S. to leave their country or to stick around to help them get out of the mess we have created. In short, let them vote on an "exit strategy" for us.

6 Comments:

Blogger Ginnie said...

Amen. I couldn't agree more !

Thursday, January 04, 2007 5:15:00 PM  
Blogger Ron Southern said...

I wonder why nobody talks about impeaching Bush? I know it might not stick, but I'd be happy for it just to keep him busy defending himself instead of compililng new murderous policies.

Thursday, January 04, 2007 9:25:00 PM  
Blogger Chancy said...

Better yet, Let's just vote with our feet and get the heck out of this quagmire of Bush's making.

All Bush is doing with sending a surge of more US troops is buying time and trying to run out the clock until 2008 so his failure will be dumped on the next President.

Saturday, January 06, 2007 8:44:00 PM  
Blogger Jerry550 said...

I agree with your assessment of Gerald Ford vs. George W. Bush. Especially the part about his being compassionate having been personally exposed to war. However, I think Ford should have made his opposition to the Iraq war known while he was still alive. As a former president, he might have influenced those who were determined to invade Iraq.

Sunday, January 07, 2007 6:45:00 AM  
Blogger joared said...

I wonder if there is some unwritten understanding that former presidents don't give statements criticizing a sitting president's actions? I can certainly understand why there might be, but surely there are issues like going to war, sending our troops off to die which might be of ample importance to nullify that stance.

The only way I want to see Bush impeached is if Cheney had to go with him, otherwise we would be "going from the frying pan into the fire" based on presidential succession.

Monday, January 08, 2007 3:26:00 AM  
Blogger Rabbi Ruth Adar said...

An Iraqi vote on our presence in their country is a fascinating idea. I wonder how it would turn out?

Monday, January 15, 2007 3:51:00 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

Blog Flux Suggest - Find and Search Blogs
Web Traffic Statistics
Nokia.com Coupon