For The Record, Here's What They Said (Justification for Iraq War)

Much as I am opposed to this war, I can't help but feel that for the average Iraqi these elections present the best opportunity for a hopeful future. My sincere wish is that they go off without a hitch and with widespread participation. I don't think that's going to happen, but it is my hope. Otherwise there's little hope for them and scant hope for us and any good we might ever be able to do in that part of the world.

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Keep America Safe AND Free!

Rrhain writes me:

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How can anyone claim that this is an "opportunity"? How can anyone claim there is any "hope" here?

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Is there any other, more realistic "hope" or "opportunity" for them? We've created a mess there and you're right, this isn't going to fix it. If however, by some miracle, there's a sizable voter turnout in the vast bulk of voting precincts then I think there may be some hope for them after all. Not bloody likely, especially since I don't think there's going to be much if any international oversight of the balloting, but within the realm of possibility at least. I'm willing to wait and see before I pass final judgement.If you want to know what I really think is going to happen, I think the election will be a farce and a puppet government will be "elected"/installed and will set about writing a US-friendly constitution. And at some point within the next year or so we will pull out and leave Iraq to civil war because more troops will be needed in our invasions of Iran and/or Syria.

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Keep America Safe AND Free!

Rrhain writes me:

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If we want to provide them hope and opportunity, then we need to get it into our thick skulls that we have to occupy the entire country and not just this piddly-ass shit that Bush came up with since he refused to listen to his military commanders telling him he needed to send more troops. And then we need to understand that we are going to be there for at least a decade if not longer. That's because despite what he insisted in his 2000 presidential campaign, we are involved in nation building and that is something that is generational in scope, not election cycle.

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Absolutely, but I was talking about realistic hope. While the upcoming election only offers the slightest glimmer of hope (and thus I'm probably wrong to refer to it as in any way realistic), your scenario offers even less hope. There is no way our Iraq policy is going to change in any substantive way. We've just watched this administration purge itself of anyone who had half a clue of the dangers we now fact in Iraq while it has promoted those who've been the most wrong. I don't see any chance whatsoever for a change and in fact I see that country headed for civil war.

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Keep America Safe AND Free!