José María Rodríguez González - Colombia - política, economía, sociedad y lucha armada - CARICATURAS DANESAS

INTERNACIONAL

La quebrada política
de Bush en Irak

Por JOSÉ MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ GONZÁLEZ
Actualizado: 6:04 a.m., martes 7 de noviembre, 2.006

(artículo internacional)

Discover What the World Thinks About US
With Translated Foreign News Available NOWHERE Else In English

Periodico Amigo, Colombia
Get Out of Iraq Now,
Before it Gets Worse

“The only choice Bush has
left is between an Iraq run
by al-Qaeda or one run by
Iran. What is the U.S. doing
sandwiched between them?”

Colombian Article (Spanish)
Complete Original Article (English) -published in New Zealand-

correo-e esta página a un amigo

Periodico Amigo, Colombia
Get Out of Iraq Now, Before it Gets Worse

“The idea that withdrawing from Iraq will cause the Sunni insurgency, Shiite militias and al-Qaeda to travel by sea and air to fight on American territory is nonsense.”

By José María Rodríguez González

Translated By Halszka Czarnocka

October Issue
Colombia - Periodico Amigo - Original Article (Spanish)

Bogota: The United States has become a mere witness to the intent of Iraqi Sunnis to seize power by force. As an ethnic minority in a nation where political power and ethnicity go hand-in-hand, the Sunnis know they will never manage to take power democratically – as they are and will continue to be in the minority. The U.S. has also lost a chance to collaborate with the Sunnis - who are distinguished by their secularist tendencies - and their supporters in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other [Arab] countries. For their part, the Shiites are supported by their religious brethren in Iran and are furiously defending democracy, since under the new system their majority status has been legalized.

The Shiites want the U.S. to stay in Iraq to crush the insurgency of their enemies, the Sunnis. The Sunnis want the U.S. to stay in Iraq to crush the militias of their enemies, the Shiites. Like a pawn in this political-military game, the U.S. is fighting both of these groups. But whoever wins, they don't want the Americans to remain on Iraqi soil. Since they are defending their own land, the Sunnis and Shiites have an advantage. The U.S. can now only expect to be kicked out in humiliation or leave gradually with its tail between its legs.

Before Bush's Iraqi victory party completely collapses, the best thing to do now would be to depart, and from the outside, assume the honorable role of helpers and mediators. The U.S. is enduring a slow but steady loss of troops in unnecessary and counterproductive operations. The U.S. is hemorrhaging money, blood and resources amidst uncompleted infrastructure projects that cannot be properly completed.

A U.S. withdrawal from Iraq could be declared a victory for al-Qaeda. Would such a victory harm the United States more than to continue its presence there, which according to most security experts - including the 16 intelligence agencies participating in a recent NIE (National Intelligence Estimate ) - has created a bonanza in recruitment for al-Qaeda and provided terrorists with a training ground? If the answer to this question is yes, then the U.S. should reinvade.

The insurgents, the militias and the terrorists will all declare victory if American troops leave, but this is preferable to the continuing loss of blood, money and global prestige that the policies of Bush, the neocons and conservative Republicans have visited upon their nation. These blind policies are pushing the U.S. toward a future as a power that is distrusted because of its belligerence and whose influence is met with isolation. Every day it becomes clearer that the policies of Bush increase the danger to the U.S. and to world. The moment to put an end to these policies is now.

The idea that withdrawing from Iraq will cause the Sunni insurgency, Shiite militias and al-Qaeda to travel by sea and air to fight on American territory is nonsense.

The continuing American presence in Iraq serves Iran's interests, since it maintains American troops in plain sight and under continuous monitoring of Tehran. This makes U.S. forces conveniently located for Iranian suicide squadrons and cells that are camouflaged in Iraq, for a quick reaction in the event that Iranian nuclear plants are bombed. The departure of U.S. troops would prevent their being held hostage or suffering serious losses after such an attack. Remaining so close to Iran to attack it with an army that is exhausted, besieged and surrounded is not tactically intelligent. The United States must leave Iraq as soon as possible to reposition its troops and recover its capacity to confront Iran and North Korea if it becomes necessary.

'Bienvenidos a mi nuevo Irak' [Arab News, Saudi Arabia]

Contrary to what it says publicly, Iran wants United States troops to stay buried and exhausted in Iraq. It is obvious that it wants to stimulate the maximum anti-American resentment. Given, however, that insurgencies require an invading force, the withdrawal of that force is likely to help calm the insurgency. That would be a smart contribution to Iraq's pacification."

The disadvantages that the Sunni insurgency and the Shiite militias (and the hidden strategies of Iran) would suffer in the event of a U.S. departure from Iraq are not reasons to remain there. The bloodletting of the inevitable civil war will continue with our without the U.S. presence. The United Statesians have lost the secular Sunnis, and the only choice Bush has left is between an Iraq run by al-Qaeda or one run by Iran. What is the United States doing sandwiched between the two?

Assertions by the hawks and neoconservatives that within a few years, terrorists will mount attacks within U.S. territory are indeed credible. As in Spain and Great Britain, such attacks will be conducted by their own citizens, even if the U.S. stays in Iraq. To have U.S. soldiers, National Guardsmen and Marines stuck there wasting money and generating opposition to foreign occupation is not a very good national security strategy, since resources are needed to examine containers arriving at U.S. ports or to secure chemical plants close to the American cities, not to mention the cost of the collective paranoia over terrorism.

[Siempre los llevaré de la mano, Guardian Unlimited, U.K.]

And what President Bush infers about the U.S. not being safe is also true, although the policies that he promotes to help achieve security is another story. To re-write the Geneva Conventions is an invitation for every anti-democratic government and dictatorship in the world to do the same and legalize torture. To violate the right to privacy enshrined in the American Constitution with a policy of telephone wiretapping without legal authorization or oversight is to turn the U.S. into a police state that emulates the tyranny of the enemy and degrades the American way of life.

"To attack before we are attacked" is a warmongering measure and is undiplomatic; "You are either with us or against us" disregards moderates, independents and other valuable international cooperation and support one could receive in terms of intelligence gathering and pursuing terrorists. All of these Bush measures are either unsuitable or damaging to worldwide security, human and civil rights. It has also badly damaged the prestige that the United States enjoyed when it defended freedom, rather than slavery to fear.

The continuing presence of the United States in Iraq also impedes the saving or partial re-direction of the $2.5 billion spent in Iraq every week, and any reduction in the trillion-dollars U.S. debt to China, Japan and the European Union.

Saddam faces the gallows: It's time to get out.

—BBC NEWS VIDEO: Saddam Reacts to
Sentence of Death, Nov. 5, 00:04:00

[SLIDE SHOW: Saddam].

Yes, overthrowing Saddam Hussein was a brilliant idea, blah, blah, blah, but now it is necessary to get out of Iraq as quickly as possible to confront new threats and new costs. The alternative is for the U.S. to confront these challenges with an exhausted army and limited resources, and still lose to the Sunni insurgency, the Shiite militias and terrorists in Iraq. Sufficient damage has been done by "staying the course" and its variations.

If we don't want to continue a counterproductive, destructive, disastrous course, the intelligent option is to stop being stubborn and withdraw from Iraq immediately, and save the troops and whatever can be salvaged of U.S. influence in the Middle East. Nothing can be worse that what we have now.

José María Rodríguez González

Todas las últimas noticias

Comentario principal

NOTA:

Cuénteme de un grupo infantil, juvenil, de mujeres, de indígenas, campesinos o trabajadores que no está recibiendo ayuda.

Contácteme inmediatamente:

NOTA:

Si Ud. tiene méritos, aunque tenga alpargatas, puede ser una\o de nuestras\os voluntarias\os. Colombia y quizá el mundo llegará a reconocerla\o.

Contácteme inmediatamente:

AYUDE A OTROS

SERVICIOS


»	anuncios

»	clasificados

NOTICIAS


»	nacionales
»	latinoamericanas
»	mundiales

DISCIPLINAR FÍSICAMENTE A LOS NIÑOS LES ENSEÑA QUE LAS COSAS SE LOGRAN POR LA FUERZA Y LES CREA RESENTIMIENTOS DE IMPOTENCIA

¿Qué puede hacer cada colombiano para que no haya crimen en Colombia?

¿Por qué "pagarle" al empleado público por cumplir con su deber si Ud. le paga el sueldo con sus impuestos?

¿Por qué no buscarlo y entregarle al dueño las cosas que Ud. se "encuentra"?

¿Por qué no devolver las vueltas extras si no le corresponden?

¿Por qué usar la fuerza si tiene cerebro?

¿Cómo podría Ud. escuchar furiosos argumentos contrarios sin enfurecerse?