No Flames >> What now in Iraq? [View All]

[Skinner]

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I was an opponent of the War in Iraq, as were many people on this message board.

The purpose of this thread is not to discuss whether or not war was appropriate. There is broad agreement here that it was not. The purpose of this thread is to discuss how the U.S. and the world community should deal with Iraq now that the country has already been invaded, Saddam Hussein is out of power, and there is an occupying force on the ground in that country.

Given the current situation in that country I believe that it would be wrong for us to simply leave Iraq. This is not an endorsement of the war. But it is an acknowledgement that our government's policies have left us with no good options.

If we were to leave Iraq now, we would plunge that country into even greater chaos than exists right now. We would virtually guarantee that the next government of Iraq would be yet another dictatorial regime -- either secular or theocratic -- which would be a disaster for the Iraqi people.

Instead, I believe that we should do the following:

1. We should internationalize the occupation force to give the U.N. and other Arab nations a significant role. We should even consider placing the entire occupation under the control of the U.N.

2. This international force should remain in Iraq until a relatively stable, democratically elected government is in place in Iraq. This democratically elected government must be based on the rule of law, and it must guarantee basic human rights to the citizens of Iraq.

3. Once Iraq has a stable, democratic government, the international force should leave.

What do you think? What now in Iraq?