How Do We Get Out of Iraq?

How to end the Iraq war? First, all the soldiers take down their tents and pack them into the big bags they put on their backs. Then they put those bags into the big trucks they drive in the desert. Then all the soldiers get into those trucks and drive them to the ports or airports where they load them on to planes and boats and then they leave. Simple, isn’t it. No, it isn’t that simple. But when the time comes and I hope it comes sooner then later, that is how it will happen. Unfortunately, I think the bigger problem is how do we save political face in a global community and bring our soldiers home safely with the least risk of having to return. I am personally less interested in the global importance and more interested in preserving our safety at home and preventing us from doing this again.

To me the problem with Iraq, like Vietnam and Korea, and Cuba and so many other countries we have invaded is we never should have been there in the first place. Never! Even if the sovereign country of Iraq was building weapons of mass destruction, it is not our right as another sovereign country to invade and take away the ability of any sovereign country to prepare for war or govern their people as they wish. This is what defines a countries sovereignty. We also have no right to invade a country simply because they don’t treat their women with the respect and freedom we treat ours. Any country that takes military action to alter or change the political or economic system cannot justify that decision with an argument of preventive protection. This is the same as foreseeing an unwanted child or problem in a woman or sovereign country and deciding the United States or the state should abort the problem before it grows up. Do you remember the Prime Directive in Star Trek?

“The Prime Directive, Starfleet's General Order #1, is the most prominent guiding principle of the United Federation of Planets; The Prime Directive dictates that there be no interference with the natural development of any primitive society, chiefly meaning that no primitive culture can be given or exposed to any information regarding advanced technology or the existence of extraplanetary civilizations. It also forbids any effort to improve or change in any way the natural course of such a society, even if that change is well-intentioned and kept completely secret. 'Primitive' is defined as any culture which has not yet attained warp drive. Starfleet allows scientific missions to investigate and move amongst pre-warp civilizations as long as no advanced technology is left behind, and there is no interference with events or no revelation of their identity. This can usually be accomplished with hidden observation posts, but Federation personnel may disguise themselves as local sentient life and interact with them.”

If we are so right about the freedoms we share amongst our people to practice different religions, assemble and debate, express their opinions on internet sites, then we most be more civilized then those that are not as free and therefore, we should never have invaded Iraq. Should someone have died for the attacks on September 11th, 2001? Yes, but that’s another topic.

To end the Iraq War we need to orderly exit the country and establish our own Prime Directive. We should leave “no advanced technology behind” and go home. We were forced to do this in Vietnam in 1975 and many people said then it was the wrong thing to do. Many believed that communism would roll in and soon all of Asia would fall to the Red Tide. It didn’t happen that way, but we thought it would. Many people argued that we need to spill more American blood in the jungles of Vietnam just to help stabilize the government. When people were clamoring that Iraq would be our Vietnam they weren’t wrong. Unlike Vietnam, we won the war but just like Vietnam, we don’t know how to leave.

Please bring our troops home Mr. Bush.