Will question be ‘Who lost Iraq’?
With the long-awaited ‘surge report’ less than a month away, there are some signs of military progress in Iraq, but virtually none of political and economic progress.??And therein lies the problem.?? If this turns out to be another case of ‘one step forward and two steps back’ in Iraq, President Bush will likely lose whatever meager support he has now for the war in Iraq.??
With friends like the current crop of Iraqi political leaders, we surely don’t need any more enemies.??About the only thing they have agreed on so far is to take most, if not all, of August off.??This would be comical if it weren’t so serious.??Their failure to make any substantive progress on the thorny issues that currently divide them and the country does not inspire confidence.??To the contrary, it invites skepticism and even cynicism about Iraq’s future.
As I’ve said many times before, we rescued the Iraqis from the regime of Saddam Hussein. We cannot rescue them from themselves.??So far, it seems, neither can they.??What’s needed, now more than ever, is a political and diplomatic surge to match the military one. Again, we can help, but it really is up to the Iraqis and other regional powers to determine whether Iraq achieves some semblance of security and stability, or continues down the slippery slope to a failed state.
No one knows what the consequences will be, for Iraq, for the region, and for United States foreign policy, if Iraq does sink into the abyss of anarchy and internecine conflict.??One thing seems certain, though ‘ they will be dire and lasting.
Already, we are hearing the question posed, ‘Who lost Iraq’Though premature, the question is likely to gain momentum in direct proportion to the degree to which Iraq continues on its current course of ‘one step forward and two steps back.’
‘Who lost Iraq’? is reminiscent of earlier blame game questions. Remember ‘Who lost China’? and ‘Who lost Korea’ One of the most vexing questions for my generation was ‘Who lost Vietnam’? Our long involvement in that debacle was actually endorsed by a succession of presidents, from both parties.??
From Eisenhower, who sent American advisors, to Kennedy, who increased their numbers dramatically, to Johnson, who sent in ground combat troops, to Nixon, who further escalated the war before ‘Vietnamizing’ it, they all had a part in what became a foreign policy fiasco that haunts us still.
If ‘Who lost Iraq’? becomes another blame game exercise between Democrats and Republicans in 2008 and beyond, the greater loss will our credibility as a nation capable of crafting and carrying out any semblance of a balanced, bipartisan foreign policy.
Meanwhile, the threats, foreign and domestic, to our vital national interests are more likely to grow than diminish.??This looming gap between the nature of the myriad threats to our national security, and our national leaders’ lack of unity and will to confront them should concern us all.??
Thomas B. Vaughn is an instructor at Motlow College and co-host of the radio show ‘Viewpoints,’ which airs on WCPI 91.3 FM.