Iraq is a central piece in the future defense of this nation. We now are seeing intel that shows that the Al Qaeda Iraq organization is not home grown but an import from the very same Al Qaeda that perpetrated 9/11. If this is true then it gives credence to the statements of Bin Laden regarding the importance of Iraq to them. It also explains the reason why Sunni's from Saudi Arabia are crossing the border to fight us.What happens in Iraq will determine how we are viewed worldwide. We need not forget that we are coming off a long string of "cut and runs", Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia, we cannot add Iraq to that list. View the past to see the future. Vietnam was a mess after we abandoned Saigon re-education camps and retaliatory killings. As for Lebanon and Somalia, just look at the news these areas are ruled by corruption and seats of terrorism local and global.
Truthfully, we will not be leaving Iraq anytime soon. We remained in Saudi Arabia years after Desert Storm and still have a small number of forces there today. The same will hold true in Iraq. The United States is currently building large military installations in several provinces of Iraq. There will be a draw down, we with remove large numbers of combat forces. But, we will have a presence in Iraq for many, many years to come. To think otherwise is naive.
As long as the economic livelihood of this nation remains tied to Mid East oil we have to maintain a presence. We thought we had that in the wake of Desert Storm. I was there, I saw the investment in Saudi military infrastructure in order to establish a permanent presence. It didn't work, It didn't work because because of the same radicals we are dealing with now. Remember that 11 of the WTC plane terrorists were Saudi Nationals. The Saudis are no particular friends.
We can only hope that the Iraqi's will be friends, I think they can, but there is a lot of water walking that needs to be done. There is much bad blood that has to be dealt with and there in lies the rub. The United States doesn't have the patience as a nation to see this through.
My question if we do not have the patience to finish what we started, do we have the patience to deal with what happens. Will Americans be so patient when they are paying $8.00 a gallon. If we leave and this region implodes that is exactly what we are facing. And who knows what the real impact on our economy be.
