HOPE AND FANTASY

The Iraq Study Group has done a good job. They have covered the territory in all directions. Unfortunately, they are not magicians, angels or miracle workers. Iraq cannot be reduced to a study group. Our choices are bad and worse. We have unleashed the very terrorists that we wanted to eliminate. Iraq is simply chaos, i. e., anarchy or civil war, take your pick. It is a lethal barroom brawl. It is Shiite against Sunni, (5 thousand years old) Shiite against Shiite, criminals, jihadists and fanatics of every sort against everyone. The police are criminals, the criminals are police.

A recent Newsweek, talked about the Prince of Baghdad, Moqtada al-Sadr, the cleric who controls the Maahdi army. The Prime Minister who the Prez says is our man in Iraq is controlled by al Sadr whose Army is probably better than the Iraqi Army. Are we getting the picture here? And, to sit around flailing the air and beating our chests is simply a waste of time. What to do?

Get out, no other choice. All along, I have said, we can't leave and we can't stay but now, we have to accept the fact that we can't stay. What the Iraq Study Group has done is the same that we have seen over and over with this debacle. Failure to face the reality of the fanaticism of the Islamic terrorists. Simply, you cannot reason with those who would kill themselves, their families, their own people. It cannot be done. All we can do is structure the situation to move out.

Will we see a blood bath? Not any different than what we already are: the Shiite will control the country, by in large. The Sunni's will resist as best they can until they get beaten down, and who knows about the Kurds.

Let's figure out how to position enough Special Operations troops around to keep some semblance of presence for awhile, rotate the troops out and don't replace them. Our military leadership is smart. What about this as an idea? As a prelude to gradually withdrawal: seal off the borders, thus keeping most of the outside terrorists at bay. Remove our troops from Baghdad, let the Iraqis give it a try in handling the city.

The idea that we should increase our troop level, even given my respect for John McCain, is about number one stupid. First of all, where are we going to get more troops? The same troops who have been in the crossfire would have to return. OUT is the only course of action given the total lack of sacrifice asked of Americans up to this time; and they are not about to want to "give at the office." Up until now, as someone has said, we've carpet bombed America with fiction about Iraq and so let's use the Iraq Study Group report to finally face reality.