« The Team Must Do Exactly What the Coach Says | Main | Flexibility and Adjustments »
August 29, 2005
Truth, Truth, Where Lies the Truth?
George W. and supporters on the right say that we are doing well in Iraq. We must stay the course. Members of the left and opponents of the war say we are losing and the best course is to start bringing our troops home now. Administration advocates point to the proposed constitution, the Iraqi election, the continued training of Iraqi security forces and a whole host of accomplishements, many of which you can find here, as proof that the U.S. is making progress.
There is no doubt that many good things are happening in Iraq. We don't hear much about it, since the media sees little outside the Baghdad Green Zone. However, the progress of political and economic reconstruction is extremely slow and there are VERY large problems, like the growing insurgency, the reluctance of Sunnis to participate in the government, the growing hatred of the occcupation, the fighting between Shiites in the south, the influence of Iran and Al Qaeda, to name just a few of the major ones. Polls show falling support for the President and his Iraq strategy. Polls don't indicate whether a particular policy is going to work. It only indicates opinions. Think of all those people in the 1400s who thought the earth was flat. Just because most people believed it did not make it true. Likewise, just because many doubt the wisdom of Bush's policies does not mean that it is not the best long term strategy for the Middle East.
It would certainly be wonderful to see into the future. I would be a very rich man, however that part of my brain doesn't seem to work extremely well. So we are left with guessing. Bush might be right. Iraq might actually approve the proposed constitution. The Iraqi army might be able to take over the war against the insurgents and defeat them within the next year or so. Electricity might be on 24 hours each day all week. The Shias might find a way to co-exist with the Sunnis. American troops might be able to return home without leaving much of the country as a terrorist training ground. That all could happen and maybe it will. It is just at this point in time my perception of Iraq is that the possibility of any one of those events happening is extremely remote, let alone all of them.
Posted by Chip Spear at August 29, 2005 1:14 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.politicalsports.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/106
Comments
supposed elementals demonstrations,tenting rainiest ... Thanks!!!
Posted by: discounts at September 20, 2006 5:34 AM