The are four views that seem to underlie the right-wing position:
- The belief that things are going well in Iraq.
- Withdrawing means those who have died will have died in vain.
- That it would send a message to terrorists that the West are cowards etc.
- Talking about withdrawal also sends that message and reduces the morale of the troops.
The first point can be viewed in two ways: that the insurgents’ numbers are falling, or that the Iraqis are becoming better able to take over the US’ job of containing the insurgency. Obviously the former is false. IF there was significant progress in building the new army, then it would be worthwhile to stay. Without that, ie. in reality, there is no point and you cannot just wait until such progress begins.
The actions of those who have died, even if things become worse after a pull-out, will have lessened the amount of damage. And if not, then there is still the fact that the pointlessness of death is no reason to allow more death. Such a thing deserves the title of “honour killings” as much as anything.
Fundamentalist (Muslims) may well see this as a sign of weakness, but do they really need more motivation? (Who cares about their determination anyway? It’s not going to affect their number or our ability to defend against them.) Wouldn’t the harm they are causing NOW to the US also encourage them?
Even if the process works, the Iraqis take over and we then leave, the Islamist terrorists among the insurgents aren’t gonna stick around. They’re going to leave Iraq and head for Western interests, just like they would if we left now. Except there would be more of them made and trained in the meantime. If things are going well there, then the Iraqis should already be able to prevent descent into civil war… right?
Does talking about it reduce morale etc? Not if you don’t hype into such a huge fucking deal, and not if you actually go ahead and do it. For that the blame can only lie with the Republicans and their hammering on about “cutting and running”, about it being essential to “stay the course”. They should have said that the US would “do the best it can for the Iraqis”, not that they were fighting for the freedom of the world.
Or in other words they should have dropped their propaganda, campaigning and empty rhetorical attempts at persuasion, and instead been realistic and totally honest. Maybe they can’t. That’s what got us into this mess in the first place, which brings up another point. Lying and misleading does not require malice as those on the right believe or are pushing. It can be done with good intention and without thought, but they don’t get that. They apparently are totally unable to comprehend that saying you know X when in fact you’ve been told of doubts about X, is lying. They can’t see (or won’t) the incredibly obvious fact that Congress never has the same intelligence as the President.
It is really hard to escape the possibility that right-wing positions are by and large, flawed or ignorant. (Rather than being differences of opinion.) Look at the content of the posts of right-wing blogs, and you far more often see fallacious arguments, claims that could be easily refuted, and attacks on people before their arguments.
In a way, I think the right is far more sensitive than they are often given credit for. They are quite correctly concerned about the morale of the troops, even if they seem to underestimate the mental capabilities of them. Pride. That’s what they are empathising with. And they resolve to protect it for the soldiers before considering those who will die; effectively valuing it higher. So strong in their psyche is pride and jingoism that the inability to quash the insurgency becomes a shameful failure for themselves, the soldiers and the US. It is easy for them to understand the effect on morale, and it becomes a motivating factor. Look out how conflated supporting the troops is with supporting the cause; it’s no accident but it isn’t willful either.
What about those in Iraq who don’t support the war and think it is going nowhere? How is their morale? In the end, morale isn’t going to do the job itself. It won’t fix the mistakes, it isn’t progress, and it isn’t a plan.