When Saigon fell to the NVA, it led to the unification of Vietnam. When the Green Zone falls to the insurgents, it will lead to the dissolution of Iraq. Will anyone supply and arm the Kurds’ peshmerga? Will Turkey seize the oilfields around Kirkuk? Will Iran become our main ally in preserving the Shi’a elected government? Lord only knows what hell and disruption will be unleashed.
What seems increasingly clear is that the U.S. does not have the staying power, will, resources, or strategy to stick this out until the central government is strong enough to maintain order.
As was the case in Vietnam, the draw down of troops will be blamed on anti-war activists, and a critical domestic press. Given the repercussions of failure for our national prestige, our geopolitical standing, our military basing, our imperial ambitions, and to powerful people’s pocketbooks, we can expect some extreme measures will be undertaken to buck up American resolve.
But no amount of black-ops and propaganda can maintain our support for a war based on a pack of lies, a war poorly executed, a war that has tarnished our record on human rights, or a war with no light at the end of tunnel. And then there is the sheer cost of the endeavor.
It is not our fault that Rumsfeld used too few troops, ignored the State Department’s recommendations for the reconstruction period, and failed to anticipate the resistance, or their tactics. It’s not our fault that Bush failed to get our allies to provide troops, or the UN to rubber stamp the invasion. None of this is our fault, and yet we will be blamed.
The following quote, pretty much says it all:
