18 February 2007
A New Coalition for Iraq
On the assumption that winning the war in Iraq is essential to quell international terrorism, as Bush claims, then two mistakes were made:
a) It was wrong to believe the Iraq war would pay for itself. There is a cost – we have to pay dearly for imposing U.S. power in order to create an orderly, non-threatening society.
b) It was wrong to remove the brutal dictatorship of Saddam who, after all, was imposing the power necessary to maintain order in that unruly society.
Since the U.S. made a mistake in the first place, we are left with the need to find a workable plan – and the resources – to turn Iraq into an orderly political system. That is what the Bush administration claims is needed to prevent its becoming a haven for Islamic terrorism. What we have learned is that we cannot afford the ambition of Bush and the neoconservatives to rule the world as the lonely superpower. Indeed, the U.S. must create a new coalition, and sacrifice dreams of going it alone, in order to achieve peace in Mesopotamia. That common effort by relatively orderly states will have to include a new Kurdistan as well as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Great Britain (which originally created the monster called Iraq), and Iran.
Unfortunately, because of the lack of enthusiasm and patience shown by Bush and his cronies, that will be the diplomatic challenge facing the next U.S. administration.
On the assumption that winning the war in Iraq is essential to quell international terrorism, as Bush claims, then two mistakes were made:
a) It was wrong to believe the Iraq war would pay for itself. There is a cost – we have to pay dearly for imposing U.S. power in order to create an orderly, non-threatening society.
b) It was wrong to remove the brutal dictatorship of Saddam who, after all, was imposing the power necessary to maintain order in that unruly society.
Since the U.S. made a mistake in the first place, we are left with the need to find a workable plan – and the resources – to turn Iraq into an orderly political system. That is what the Bush administration claims is needed to prevent its becoming a haven for Islamic terrorism. What we have learned is that we cannot afford the ambition of Bush and the neoconservatives to rule the world as the lonely superpower. Indeed, the U.S. must create a new coalition, and sacrifice dreams of going it alone, in order to achieve peace in Mesopotamia. That common effort by relatively orderly states will have to include a new Kurdistan as well as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Great Britain (which originally created the monster called Iraq), and Iran.
Unfortunately, because of the lack of enthusiasm and patience shown by Bush and his cronies, that will be the diplomatic challenge facing the next U.S. administration.
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