Five years ago, I supported the American invasion of Iraq. But our five years there have not made America safer. Instead, our actions have gained us the enmity of the world, damaged the U.S. economy, and distracted us from more pressing matters in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Those who wish to continue the war in Iraq point to the success of the surge as evidence of “progress.” And the surge strategy has indeed reduced violence in Iraq to levels of the summer of 2006. But the fundamental goal of the surge—according to its advocates and the president—was to generate breathing space for Iraqi national reconciliation. This hasn’t occurred.
Just last week, according to the Washington Post, U.S. General David Petraeus admitted that Iraqi leaders are no closer to resolving their political differences than they were before the surge began. And this past January, Iraq’s defense minister confessed to the New York Times that his nation will be unable to take full responsibility for its internal security until 2012 and unable to defend its own borders from external threat until at least 2018.
Proponents of the war simply have failed to grapple with the political failure of the surge. They offer absolutely nothing other than the continued occupation of Iraq—for the next 100 years, to hear John McCain tell it.
They have nothing to say about the trillions of dollars we’re pouring into Iraq, the huge amounts of wealth being piled up in China, the oil-fueled resurgence of Russia, the weakness of the dollar, and the rising tide of anti-Americanism around the world. Nothing, other than “stay the course—only cowards cut and run.” No plans, no endgame, nothing.
They apparently believe that fighting jihadists in Iraq or policing the country’s sectarian and ethnic disputes is our nation’s highest calling. Most of their fellow Americans, belatedly but thankfully, demur.
