Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Iraq Study Group Report...Reaction from Dr. Samuel Freeman

I just received a response from Dr. Samuel Freeman. Here's what he had to say about the Iraq Study Group:
"Basically, the Iraq Study Group tried to "square the circle". That is, they tried to present a clear picture of how bad the situation is, that we are losing, and that we cannot win. At the same time, they tried not to say these things, and tried to hold out a chance we at least might find a graceful way out of Iraq.
They made some intelligent recommendations that should be obvious to anyone with any brains. We gain absolutely nothing by refusing to reestablish relations with Iran and Syria. In the short run, doing so probably will accomplish nothing. Iranian and Syrian interests are being well served by the continuing debacle in Iraq. It is in their interest, as it is in the interests of most of the Arab nations, to see the U.S. suffer the most humiliating defeat possible in Iraq; and we are headed precisely in that direction. In addition, even if we did reestablish relations and could persuade Iran and Syria to use their influence with Iraqi resistance leaders to lower the level of violence, such negotiations would take more time then we are likely to have. In a very real sense, Iraq is imploding; nothing is likely to stop that implosion.
If the Study Group truly had been honest, rather than striving mightily to indicate the truth while simultaneously save face for President Bush, they would have said the war is lost, that there is nothing we can do to win it. In truth, the war was lost the day we invaded Iraq, as many people realized at the time. Unfortunately, the in-bed press was far too busy spreading Bush's lies and choking off all voices of dissent to allow the truth to be presented to the American people. So we now are left with a disaster of our own making. The Iraqis obviously are paying a heavy price, but the U.S. ultimately will pay a far greater price in terms of hudreds of billions--over $110 billion this year alone, plus another $100 billion next year, on top of over $100 billion prior to 2006. But we also will pay a heavy price in the hatred we have engendered not only in the Arab world, but throughout the world. We are being seen as the empire we are, and are losing all legitimacy as a world leader.
Consequently, our economy is going to be severely negatively impacted, and our ability to influence, much less lead the world is going to be greatly reduced. The damage we have caused ourselves by this war will take decades to be repaired. If the Iraq Study Group truly had been honest, they would have said these things and said the very best thing the U.S. could do, both for itself and for Iraq, is to withdraw as quickly as possible--meaning over the next 6 to 9 months. Without question, that will result in full fledged civil war in Iraq; but that is coming anyway. The longer we stay there, the more severe and the longer the conflict will be. As ironic as it sounds, leaving as quickly as possible actually will save lives."--Dr. Samuel Freeman
Dr. Samuel Freeman is a professor of political science at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas.

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