Time to leave Iraq

[OneAngryDemocrat]

There are no WMDs in Iraq. There were no WMDs in Iraq. Saddam didn't have them and there were plenty of CIA spooks screaming to anyone that would listen that the Iraqi WMDs scare was a bust.

We didn't invade and occupy Iraq in order to "spread democracy" either. Egypt, Pakistan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority all held elections, and Islamic fundamentalists won those elections every time. Afghanistan held elections, and one of the first things the government in Kabul did was condemn to death a Muslim convert to Christianity.

Now we discover George Bush is responsible for more than twice as many dead Iraqis in three short years of occupation than Saddam Hussein killed in almost 30 years of ruling Iraq.

Those that support the continued occupation of Iraq will point the finger of guilt for all of those deaths at the Iraqi insurgency and not the president. International law, as well as our moral obligation as the occupying army, however, demands that the occupying force (America) provide the security of an occupied nation (Iraq). It would appear that we haven't lived up to our legal, or moral, responsibilities.

All that remains to justify the continued occupation of Iraq is the so-called "fly-paper theory," which states we must remain in Baghdad so as to prevent terror attacks here at home. Despite the fact the absence of a major domestic terrorist attack isn't indicative that a continued U.S. military presence in Iraq is the reason, just what does the "fly-paper theory" say about us, as a people, and our morals?

"Hi, Iraqis. We're going to give you a democracy that you didn't ask for and against your will ... we'll sell your oil at the lowest prices on earth to pay for everything we blew up, as well as pay for everything your neighbors blew up (which was our moral and legal responsibility to prevent in the first place), and you have no choice in the matter. Oh ... and we will rake up a body count twice as high as your 'brutal' dictator's tally and see that your nation is smashed into rubble. Don't bother to thank us ... it is our pleasure."

If the "fly-paper theory" were valid, then moving our soldiers to Afghanistan would serve just as well as a terrorist target and staying in Iraq would no longer serve a logical purpose. It is high time for America to come to this realization.

Del Wasso, Freeport

http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2006/10/20/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/344553855350738.txt