Iraq — What’s the Answer?

By Harvey Tobkes

It all began with all the great minds of both political parties agreeing that it was intolerable for Iraq to possess WMD, and therefore force was required to fix the problem. In retrospect, asking myself if that decision was right or wrong, I conclude that the public simply doesn’t have enough information to decide.

Our troops are fighting and dying and Americans are not seeing the positive results because the media shows us only death and destruction. We are impatient and want a quick victory, that is what Americans expect, but this war is different than any other.

For the first time, we are fighting an enemy that doesn’t wear uniforms and hides among civilians. So, it is to be expected that there will be many civilian deaths, and the terrorists don’t hesitate to kill their own people just to gain sympathy from bleeding hearts in the U.S.

Our side came up with a wonderful plan of trying to establish an all-Iraqi peace keeping army to control the many fractionalized groups within the country. That army would need an exceptionally strong leader who could inspire his men to achieve a delicate peace among the divided Iraqi combatants. Some U.S. generals say that this can happen in 12 to 18 months. I am highly skeptical; if we couldn’t get control, how will a rag tag Iraqi army do it? A quarter or so of a typical Iraqi unit is on leave at any one time. Since Iraq lacks an effective banking system for paying its troops, soldiers are generally given a week’s leave each month to bring their pay home. Desertions and absenteeism are another concern.

Another easy way out is withdrawal, but the clouds of disaster hang over that alternative because anarchy and worse could evolve in Iraq and possibly come back to bite us in the rear.

The solution is the classic: The answer is…there is no answer.