We all know that wars never get us to any good, but even if it is the generally accepted notion, we sometimes have to get involve to mend some things. The war on Iraq has ever been a resounding issue ever since the first US intervention. In this particular issue, it always seems that the US is always painted in a negative image. Critics accuse the US of having selfish political intentions regarding the situation in Iraq. What these critics are overlooking are the altruistic intentions of the US to help Iraq. They are also not considering the fact that the war does not only affects the US and Iraq. It is very likely that if the situation does not get controlled, things could go out of hand, even beyond the borders of Iraq. This is a global concern and the US is being blamed for trying to address it. Nobody is in favor of wars, but we must consider that the US has the capabilities to end a war that is affecting many people.
I am very much aware that the argument of this paper would raise some eyebrows. I would like to first clear that this paper has no intent of offending anyone because of racial issues that may be raised during the discussion. What this paper seeks is the consideration of some aspects of the war on Iraq. I would be posting some possible repercussions when we would pullout our troops from Iraq. It is very important to consider that these repercussions would not only affect the two countries involved, it could also have an effect of a worldwide scale. Let us just use a common saying for an analogy, we have proven through human history that “prevention is the best cure.”
That analogy would work well in this context, after all, the US troop’s main purpose for they stay in Iraq is to prevent further harm from hostile forces. If we would consider when US troops had first pulled out from Iraq, terrorism had been augmented in Iraq. And this augmentation of terror is perpetuated by other surrounding hostile countries. They claim that they have attacked Iraq as a response to the American Imperialism. In these kinds of situations, it is undeniable that the Iraqi people would need addition help in terms of security. The US army has the capability of helping in the security, so why not? The US army is after all considered as, if not the most, one of the most capable armed forces in the world.
Moreover, if we leave Iraq vulnerable to the surrounding hostile countries, would take control of a major part of the world’s oil supply. I personally believe that this particular aspect of the pullout does not require much expounding. The simple logic that there is nothing beneficial that would happen if the world’s oil supply would be controlled by terrorists, is already enough for me. We are currently having an energy crisis, if the terrorists would monopolize the world’s oil supply, we could just imagine the chaos that would breakout.
Another important aspect that we should consider is the reputation of the US as a country and moreover, a country of the world. I know this may sound as negatively ethnocentric, but the image that the US is now getting more and more alarming. It seems that the US is building up a reputation as a country who cannot stand firm alongside the commitments we had made. During the past commitments of the US, we consequently get the reputation that we cannot be trusted when the situation gets difficult. A classic example of this is when the US had to leave the Vietnam War and consequently leave allies vulnerable to the enemies. The “marines in Beirut” and the famous “Black Hawk Down” incident are just other examples. If this trend would go on, the US would be just confirming the opinions of the critics. The worst thing that could happen is that the people might lose faith in the US strength as a nation, not to mention the opinions of other countries.
But the most important reason for not pulling out our troops in Iraq is for the troops themselves. Moving the troops to Iraq had caused a considerable amount of time, money, and effort. Moving the troops out of Iraq would likewise require as much. Flying them out of the country would not happen in just days. Democrat presidential candidate Barrack Obama had said himself that it is approximated that moving the troops out of Iraq would take tow to three years (Anburajan). But the most critical point is that if we move the troops out gradually, the troops that would be left behind would be vulnerable to attacks. A gradual pullout would just translate to the gradual diminish of the military strength in the country. The only safe time when we could pull out our troops is only when the insurgents have been fully suppressed. The result of this would not only make the return of our troops safe, but Iraq would be left as a safe and politically stable place.
As a conclusion, I would just like to reiterate that no one likes wars. I personally detest the concept of wars, just as much as everyone in the world does. But there are some situations that we are required to do things that we do not like, simply because we have to. We could just go back the analogy that “prevention is the best cure.” We could just think of the war as a bitter medicine that would help us prevent a disease. We could just swallow the bitter taste of that action taking into consideration the safety of the US, Iraq, our troops, and the whole world. If not pulling out our troops would be the key towards peace even in just one part of the world, I strong believe that it is a choice we have to make as a peace-loving nation.
References
- Aswini Anburajan. December 15, 2007.OBAMA: TROOPS OUT IN TWO TO THREE YEARS.
- Berger, Samuel. National Security Adviser. America Must Not Pull Out of Iraq to Contain Civil War.