At this point we are all familiar with the Iraq war story: the cooking up of intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, the lack of a military strategy to defeat an insurgency, and the strengthening of Al Qaeda's organization in Afghanistan to pre 9/11 levels. But regardless of how we got here, what should we do now?
The options presented to the public include a precipitous withdrawal or an open ended commitment of American troops (the latter policy being the choice of the Bush administration and John McCain). However, this is a false dichotomy. Recently, 48 Democratic candidates running for election to the United States Congress proposed a responsible plan to end the Iraq war [1].
The underlying theme of the plan is that there is no military solution in Iraq, and progress can only be made through strong diplomatic, political, and economic efforts. The first step we must take is to begin withdrawals of American troops. A policy of open ended commitment provides no incentive to the Iraqi government to work towards political reconciliation. The recent fighting in Basra provides a perfect example of this.
The city of Basra is a stronghold of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army. Iraq's prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is fearful that those loyal to al-Sadr may come into power in upcoming Iraqi elections. By no means is Muqtada al-Sadr a warm and fuzzy character on the Iraqi political scene. His militia was heavily involved in the insurgency waged against American forces, but over the past year the Mahdi army has declared a ceasefire (this in conjunction with the "surge" has helped to decrease the violence in Iraq)[2]. Recently, prime minister al-Maliki jeopardized the ceasefire by sending the Iraqi army to Basra in an attempt to expel the Mahdi Army from the city. The United States blessed the operation even though Muqtada al-Sadr has a large following among Iraq's Shia muslim population. Originally, the offensive was purely fought by Iraqis, but after the Mahdi army proved to be a formidible opponent the U.S. provided air support and some special operations forces [3]. Muqtada al-Sadar's militia is still in control of the city, and as long as the U.S. is willing to side with al-Maliki against his political opponents nationwide religious and political reconciliation is not possible.
The second battle of Fallujah provides another example of why there is no military solution in Iraq. In November of 2004 the marines completely destroyed the city of Fallujah, which was considered to be a Sunni insurgent stronghold [4]. The military offensive took place right before the January 2005 elections that brought Nouri al-Malaki into power. The destruction of Fallujah inflamed Sunni muslims, and resulted in their boycott of the elections [5]. The result: a Shia dominated government that was viewed as illegitimate by a very large portion of the Iraqi population. This outcome was a major roadblock on the road to Iraqi political reconciliation.
In addition to beginning a withdrawal of American forces, a massive reconstruction effort should begin. One of the great proposals outlined in the responsible plan is to employ Iraqi's, not for profit U.S. contractors, to lead this effort. The ongoing military operations in Iraq have a devastating effect on vital infrastructure that provides basic services such as running water and electricity. For example, it is estimated that most Iraqi's have working electricity for only three hours per day [1]. When you couple the lack of basic services with high unemployment rates, taking up arms against the occupying force doesn't sound like a bad idea. This is driving much of the violence occurring in Iraq. By employing Iraqis to rebuild their country we can solve many problems. Violence will decline, infrastructure will be repaired, and the economic situation will improve.
These are only a few of the policies that are outlined in the responsible plan to end the Iraq war. Regardless of how we got into Iraq, what is needed is an exit strategy that reduces the burdens on our military, and leaves a stable country for the Iraqi people. I believe that the responsible plan is the way forward.
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