Periodico Amigo, Colombia
Get Out of Iraq Now, Before it Gets Worse
“The idea that withdrawing from Iraq will cause the Sunni insurgency, Shiite militias and al-Qaeda to travel by sea and air to fight on American territory is nonsense.”
By José María Rodríguez González
Translated By Halszka Czarnocka

Bogota: The United States has become a mere witness to the intent of Iraqi Sunnis to seize power by force. As an ethnic minority in a nation where political power and ethnicity go hand-in-hand, the Sunnis know they will never manage to take power democratically – as they are and will continue to be in the minority. The U.S. has also lost a chance to collaborate with the Sunnis - who are distinguished by their secularist tendencies - and their supporters in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other [Arab] countries. For their part, the Shiites are supported by their religious brethren in Iran and are furiously defending democracy, since under the new system their majority status has been legalized.

The Shiites want the U.S. to stay in Iraq to crush the insurgency of their enemies, the Sunnis. The Sunnis want the U.S. to stay in Iraq to crush the militias of their enemies, the Shiites. Like a pawn in this political-military game, the U.S. is fighting both of these groups. But whoever wins, they don't want the Americans to remain on Iraqi soil. Since they are defending their own land, the Sunnis and Shiites have an advantage. The U.S. can now only expect to be kicked out in humiliation or leave gradually with its tail between its legs.

Before Bush's Iraqi victory party completely collapses, the best thing to do now would be to depart, and from the outside, assume the honorable role of helpers and mediators. The U.S. is enduring a slow but steady loss of troops in unnecessary and counterproductive operations. The U.S. is hemorrhaging money, blood and resources amidst unfinished projects that cannot be properly completed.

A U.S. withdrawal from Iraq could be declared a victory for al-Qaeda. Would such a victory harm the United States more than to continue its presence there, which according to most security experts - including the 16 intelligence agencies participating in a recent NIE (National Intelligence Estimate ) - has created a bonanza in recruitment for al-Qaeda and provided terrorists with a training ground? If the answer to this question is yes, then the U.S. should reinvade.

The insurgents, the militias and the terrorists will all declare victory if American troops leave, but this is preferable to the continuing loss of blood, money and global prestige that the policies of Bush, the neocons and conservative Republicans have visited upon their nation. These blind policies are pushing the U.S. toward a future as a power that is distrusted because of its belligerence and whose influence is met with isolation. Every day it becomes clearer that the policies of Bush increase the danger to the U.S. and to world. The moment to put an end to these policies is now.

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