Growing calls for Troop Withdrawal "Why exactly is it that we can’t get out now?"

The defining international issue for America when I was in high school and college was the war in Vietnam.

Americans had a choice: continue the war, or get out.

People on both sides were backed by powerful political figures who provided leadership and voiced their arguments. In 1972, the presidential election matched Richard Nixon, who aimed to continue the war, and South Dakota Sen. George McGovern, who pledged to withdraw our military forces within 90 days.

The political system gave the public real choices, real debate and meaningful ways to act.

Contrast that with the situation today with respect to the war in Iraq.

Most Americans believe invading Iraq was a mistake. Many believe we are not making progress there. We all want the troops to come home.

Yet, there is no visible anti-war movement - no marches such as the ones that drew millions of Americans in the 1960s and 1970s; no signs demanding that we "Bring the Troops Home Now" such as we saw everywhere during those years.

The reason for the silence is that we don’t believe we have any choices to make.

The war might have been a mistake, but you can’t undo that.

Our policy might be failing, but no one has a better idea.

We don’t want to be there, but are paralyzed by one simple truth: We can’t get out of Iraq now.

This has become unassailable political dogma: We can’t get out now.

I certainly believed it. I’ve said it to myself and others a thousand times in the last two years.

But suddenly this week, and especially after listening to President Bush’s speech on Tuesday, I found myself wondering: Why do I believe this? Why exactly is it that we can’t get out now?

One reason the dogma is so completely unchallenged is the near total absence of politicians with the courage to even suggest it might not be true.

Yes, Congressmen Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii advocate getting out right away. And yes, a group of 41 members of Congress have formed the "Out of Iraq Congressional Caucus."

But this is a tiny group of mostly obscure players. Not a single heavy hitter from either party questions the dogma.

As a result, any possible public doubt is smothered by a seamless message: We can’t get out now.

The president hammered it home again on Tuesday, going so far as to say that we can’t even set a "timetable" for getting out - because it would "send the wrong message."

He promised that "we will stay in Iraq as long as we are needed and not a day longer."

But are we really "needed" there right now?

Before we invaded Iraq, it was a stable country - ruled by a dictator, yes, but a functioning political entity.

And the Iraqis had put together a very good military force all by themselves.

How good?

From 1982 to 1990, Iraq fought a brutal war against Iran.

In 1990, Iraq’s forces attacked Kuwait and we had to go to war to stop them.

In 2003, we were terrified that Iraq was going to attack us with weapons of mass destruction so we attacked them first.

During the invasion, we seriously worried that Iraq’s famed "Republican Guard" would inflict terrible casualties on our troops.

That’s how good Iraq’s military was.

So why have the citizens of this former military power suddenly become so weak and incompetent that we have to hold their hands to form things as basic as police forces and security units? That doesn’t make any sense. Iraqis proved themselves to be capable soldiers both before and during Saddam’s rule. Why not now?

Yes, Iraq is beset by "insurgents" and "terrorists" and other troublemakers. So are Egypt, Argentina, the Philippines and a whole lot of other places, but we don’t plow in American troops because those nations can’t "handle" it. They raise armies and fight back as best they can.

Yes, Iraq might experience a civil war. So did we - and other countries stayed out of it. And the bitter experience made us stronger. If Iraqis march against each other, that is sad, but a struggle that nations sometimes have to endure.

Iraqis are a brave, intelligent and patriotic people. They have a well established culture, valuable natural resources, and a newly elected government. That puts them far ahead of many other struggling nations.

If we give them generous financial aid, why can’t the Iraqis go it alone right now? Why can’t they be responsible for their own future as they were responsible for their own past?

Why can’t we leave now?

"The (American) troops have done their job," Kucinich and Abercrombie wrote in a May 16 column in USA Today. "They have given ordinary Iraqis the chance to shape their country’s destiny."

And George McGovern, still alive and still fighting, wrote in a June 6 column, "The combination of stubbornness and saving face is not an adequate rationale for continuing this war.... It is time for lawmakers in Washington - and for concerned citizens across the nation - to demand that this sad chapter in our history come to an end."

He was right about Vietnam, and he just might be right again.

No matter what the dogma says.
By Rich Lewis
– http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/...

More and more Americans are coming to believe Congress must set up a timetable for bringing our soldiers home. We have accomplished the major goal of removing Saddam Hussein and we have supported an open election and the establishment of a new government based on law and order.

For our troops to plan to stay indefinitely is to continue to provide reason for the insurgents to continue their attacks to remove American troops from Iraq.

Four congressmen; two Republicans and two Democrats, including Walker Jones, R-N.C., and Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, have presented a bill to Congress for consideration and a vote on a plan for our troops’ withdrawal. The language is carefully worded to consider the present and the future of our country, not to re-examine the past.

Congressional support for the development of a plan of withdrawal within the near future reflects a growing movement on the part of the American people.

These four congressmen have provided the beginning leadership for the growing position of the American people for a plan to bring our troops home.

Maine citizens should urge Sens. Snows and Collins and Reps. Michaud and Allen to study and support the legislation.

Frances Wirta
– http://www.bangornews.com/news/temp...