02-11-2008, 06:16 PM | #51 |
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02-11-2008, 06:58 PM | #52 | |
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Memphis freakin' Tennessee!!!!!
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Start with these:
How do you plan to deal with the fallout of leaving an unstable regime in the region? What will you tell our friends there, especially Arabs who will see Persian dominance of a fellow Arab state? How will you protect our Kurdish friends in the north from reprisals/dominance from Iraqis, Iranians, and Turks? How will you prevent a civil war and what are the contingencies should one break out? How will you deal with those Iraqis who worked with us and will certainly face reprisals at the face of those we are fighting? For example, what about the tribal chieftans in Anbar province? How will you secure our diplomatic facilities and diplomats in country, or is the plan to significantly reduce that presence as well? As best as I can tell, I guess these are your responses: Quote:
While you're contemplating those questions, here's one that is very near and dear to Dem hearts. How will you prevent Al Qaeda from taking advantage of the internal instability and setting up more training facilities inside Iraq? That Cato piece acknowledges the presence of training camps. Aren't these terrorists our real targets? We haven't even discussed Israel's reaction to our pull-out. Or do you agree with Obama when he says the internal situation may necessitate we keep our troops there beyond his timeframe for withdrawal?
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02-12-2008, 01:32 AM | #53 | |||||||||
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Quote:
Fortunately, a gigantic civil war isn't in the best interest of any of the regional powers. Syria, Iran and Turkey all have substantial Kurdish minorities in their borders. Civil war in Iraq would almost certainly lead to tremendous instability with the Kurdish populations throughout the region. Iran is the nation most frequently talked about that would cause problems, but it isn't even clear that a full-scale civil war is in their interest. While Iran is Shia, they are also Persian, and the Shia in Iraq largely view themselves as Arab. Iran could face issues if the Arab Shia turn on the Persian Shia and nationalism increases. furthermore, too much meddling by Iran would almost certainly lead to a proxy war with Saudi Arabia, something neither of those two countries can much afford. The US would need a strong blend of diplomacy and possible threats of military intervention against foreign powers wanting to meddle too much within Iraq. This is, by the way, the recommendation of the Iraq Study Group as well. Is it a perfect answer? Hardly. But is it at least as good as yours? Definitely. Quote:
The best protection, long term, is a diplomatic solution, as I mentioned above. Do you honestly believe that 100,000 US troops can require everyone to get along in Iraq? Quote:
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