Leaving Iraq, Honorably
By Chuck Hagel
Sunday, November 26, 2006; Page B07
There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq. These
terms do not reflect the reality of what is going to happen there. The
future of Iraq was always going to be determined by the Iraqis -- not
the Americans.
Iraq is not a prize to be won or lost. It is part of the ongoing global
struggle against instability, brutality, intolerance, extremism and
terrorism. There will be no military victory or military solution for
Iraq. Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger made this point last
weekend.
The time for more U.S. troops in Iraq has passed. We do not have more
troops to send and, even if we did, they would not bring a resolution to
Iraq. Militaries are built to fight and win wars, not bind together
failing nations. We are once again learning a very hard lesson in
foreign affairs: America cannot impose a democracy on any nation --
regardless of our noble purpose.
We have misunderstood, misread, misplanned and mismanaged our honorable
intentions in Iraq with an arrogant self-delusion reminiscent of
Vietnam. Honorable intentions are not policies and plans. Iraq belongs
to the 25 million Iraqis who live there. They will decide their fate and
form of government.
[...]
America finds itself in a dangerous and isolated position in the world.
We are perceived as a nation at war with Muslims. Unfortunately, that
perception is gaining credibility in the Muslim world and for many years
will complicate America's global credibility, purpose and leadership.
This debilitating and dangerous perception must be reversed as the world
seeks a new geopolitical, trade and economic center that will
accommodate the interests of billions of people over the next 25 years.
The world will continue to require realistic, clear-headed American
leadership -- not an American divine mission.
The United States must begin planning for a phased troop withdrawal from
Iraq. The cost of combat in Iraq in terms of American lives, dollars and
world standing has been devastating. We've already spent more than $300
billion there to prosecute an almost four-year-old war and are still
spending $8 billion per month. The United States has spent more than
$500 billion on our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And our effort in
Afghanistan continues to deteriorate, partly because we took our focus
off the real terrorist threat, which was there, and not in Iraq.
We are destroying our force structure, which took 30 years to build.
We've been funding this war dishonestly, mainly through supplemental
appropriations, which minimizes responsible congressional oversight and
allows the administration to duck tough questions in defending its
policies. Congress has abdicated its oversight responsibility in the
past four years.
It is not too late. The United States can still extricate itself
honorably from an impending disaster in Iraq. The Baker-Hamilton
commission gives the president a new opportunity to form a bipartisan
consensus to get out of Iraq. If the president fails to build a
bipartisan foundation for an exit strategy, America will pay a high
price for this blunder -- one that we will have difficulty recovering
from in the years ahead.
To squander this moment would be to squander future possibilities for
the Middle East and the world. That is what is at stake over the next
few months.
The writer is a Republican senator from Nebraska.
I really, really, really wish Chuck Hagel would run for President in
2008. We need a leader that will stand up for old-school conservative
principles and Senator Hagel seems (to me) to be the most competent
person to take that charge.
