This state of affairs is intolerable.
The right plan, in the short term, is the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq. Now. Not when the violence "subsides." Not when Iraq has a stable government. Not when more Iraqi forces are trained. Not when the Democrats tell us the war is over, not when the Republicans tell us the war is over, and not when we have a new president.
The time to leave Iraq is now. Not in the fall. Not next year. Not next month or next week. Today, not tomorrow - right now.
Could the entire U.S. Military machine and its associated contractors leave Iraq this very moment? Obviously not. But, we could easily announce an immediate cessation of aggressive hostilities, and start mobilizing all of our resources to transport the troops out right away. It didn't take all that long to march into Iraq, and it won't take that long to march right on out.
FOR THE FUTURE
I hope that the painful lessons of the Iraq war will cause the American people to realize that the only solution to our foreign policy problems, including our nation's security, is not just a withdrawal from Iraq.
These long-term measures should be taken:
- Bring all U.S. troops home. All of them.
- Stop inciting violence against us by backing coups and despotic regimes.
- Stop telling other countries what type of government they should have, who their leaders should be, and what their policies should be.
- End all foreign aid; both military and economic. Allow the American people, with their own free will, to decide which charities and movements they want to support with their money and lives.
On top of these essential measures, we must clearly recognize that people in other countries don't hate us for "being free." They attack us when our government continually interferes in their lives.
This long-term solution requires a return to our nation's founding principles of individual liberty. This is quite contrary to America's current policies of militarism, endless foreign aid, massive standing armies, assassinations, coups, deadly sanctions, and wars.
As a nation, we cannot solve all the problems of the world. We cannot bring peace to the world. And, as the historical record shows, we cannot trust our politicians to do so either. Such has been the arrogance of many of the most murderous tyrants in world history, and such has been the path to their destruction.
We may not be able to stop war and bloodshed in places like Darfur, and we may not be able to bring liberty to places like North Korea. But, by standing up for what we believe in, our voices can make a real difference in what our own government is allowed to do.
When a government that rules in our name engages in torture, killing, and war, the number one question that will be asked of us someday is this: did you rise in opposition to it? Did you speak out against it? Or, did you approve of it by remaining silent?
I, for one, rise in opposition, and will continue to speak out.
by Michael Boldin [click here for more articles], who is a gun-toting, thirty-something technology-inclined city-dweller. He is an avid hiker of the San Gabriel Mountains, and is prone to life in the wilderness. Raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by a politically active family, he developed a distaste for big government early on. Michael is a senior editor and contributing writer for http://www.populistamerica.com and welcomes your feedback at mboldin@populistamerica.com
