Dear Editor,
Your two recent editorials (SN Apr 1, 2) rightly draw attention to the catastrophic consequences of the U.S.-led war in Iraq and the implications for the U.S presidential election. Not only did America and its allies who participated in the invasion suffer from the war, so too did innocent Iraqis who the Bush Administration said would benefit from the war. As it turned out, half of the Iraqi population have been dislocated, over a hundred thousand were killed according to private estimates and hundreds of thousands more injured.
More Iraqis died as a result of the invasion and occupation than were killed by the Iraqi butcher Saddam Hussein. There is untold misery, infrastructure is in terrible shape and water and electricity are not easily accessible. In general, there is no peace and stability.
The U.S has suffered a huge toll of over 4,000 deaths and 20,000 serious injuries. Many more from other countries were killed and injured from the occupation. It is time for an exit strategy. The war has cost over one trillion dollars most of which was borne by the U.S which is now in a recession with a debt of almost 10 trillion dollars.
The U.S has not achieved success in Iraq. The country is not happy with the continued occupation of Iraq and over two-thirds of Americans are telling pollsters the troops should come home. The troops themselves are not happy being in Iraq. And the U.S Presidential candidates are addressing the war as a serious issue.
As you noted, in November America will either elect a Republican who is a bellicose war veteran who thinks US troops could remain in Iraq for an endless period or a Democrat who has promised a swift withdrawal. But John McCain is pragmatic about a withdrawal while both Obama and Clinton are politic enough to leave the details vague on how and when they will pull troops out. As a political scientist noted, neither outcome offers much hope that America’s endgame will be smarter than its bungled occupation. No candidate has dared to suggest how he or she would handle the chaos that would inevitably follow a U.S withdrawal.
The U.S needs to talk with neighbouring countries and the European allies to find a solution to the more serious problems that arose as a result of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
It is understandable that the U.S cannot walk away from the country as this will allow Iraq to become a breeding ground for extremism and a training camp for those who carried out the 9/11 attacks. But the U.S can’t continue as usual because it simply cannot afford the occupation with increasing opposition to it at home. A negotiated solution with the relevant powers in the region and the Europeans is the only way out.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
