We Don't Have Time to Wait for 2008
By Matt Rowe, Executive Director, WinTheGWOT.org
In his February article, Managing Iraq, Dr. Jon Alterman challenges policy makers to begin discussing how the US and Iraqi governments will manage the outcome of the war in Iraq, given that it certainly will not be as successful as the Bush Administration had originally hoped, nor as disastrous as many of us fear. Alterman also reiterates that the war in a Iraq is more of a proxy war aggravated by external states and influences like its neighbors, the US, and Al-Qaeda than it is a civil war in spite of the sectarian nature of the fighting we hear about in the news.
Apart from the US, none of these outside influences are likely to be working toward a completely redesigned Iraqi state as much as simply influencing the establishment of a state that operates as close in alignment with their own best national (and other) interests as possible. The US needs to join suit and stop the “win or lose” rhetoric. Interestingly, despite what many in the world see as an imminent US defeat, Dr. Alterman reminds us that the US is still a very capable military and economic power in the region, albeit with some critical and highly publicized limits. What this all adds up to is a longer period of US involvement in Iraq than most people (and politicians) are seemingly ready to recognize. It also implies a greater reliance upon diplomacy and economic influence as opposed to military force.
It is high time to stop all of the political posturing for 2008 and focus on how we are going to make the best of our ongoing commitments and requirements in Iraq and the rest of the region. It is a region that still heavily relies upon the US for its overall security and economic prosperity, so we have not become inconsequential there despite what the pundits may imply. Pulling out completely is not the answer. Blindly ramping up our military forces is not the answer either. Our politicians and statesmen must work together and come up with a unifying solution for the war in Iraq that accepts the long term nature of the challenge. Debate and dissent are healthy and necessary in our democracy, but the extreme wedge that currently divides our politics serves no American as well as it does Al-Qaeda and other enemies of the US. The next US President will make him or herself known when he/she brings the disparate US political factions together and genuinely develops a strategy for the future that we can all live with.
______________________________
Dr. Jon B. Alterman is the Director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). You can read his article, Managing Iraq, in the February 2007 Middle East Notes and Comment, published by CSIS.
In his February article, Managing Iraq, Dr. Jon Alterman challenges policy makers to begin discussing how the US and Iraqi governments will manage the outcome of the war in Iraq, given that it certainly will not be as successful as the Bush Administration had originally hoped, nor as disastrous as many of us fear. Alterman also reiterates that the war in a Iraq is more of a proxy war aggravated by external states and influences like its neighbors, the US, and Al-Qaeda than it is a civil war in spite of the sectarian nature of the fighting we hear about in the news.
Apart from the US, none of these outside influences are likely to be working toward a completely redesigned Iraqi state as much as simply influencing the establishment of a state that operates as close in alignment with their own best national (and other) interests as possible. The US needs to join suit and stop the “win or lose” rhetoric. Interestingly, despite what many in the world see as an imminent US defeat, Dr. Alterman reminds us that the US is still a very capable military and economic power in the region, albeit with some critical and highly publicized limits. What this all adds up to is a longer period of US involvement in Iraq than most people (and politicians) are seemingly ready to recognize. It also implies a greater reliance upon diplomacy and economic influence as opposed to military force.
It is high time to stop all of the political posturing for 2008 and focus on how we are going to make the best of our ongoing commitments and requirements in Iraq and the rest of the region. It is a region that still heavily relies upon the US for its overall security and economic prosperity, so we have not become inconsequential there despite what the pundits may imply. Pulling out completely is not the answer. Blindly ramping up our military forces is not the answer either. Our politicians and statesmen must work together and come up with a unifying solution for the war in Iraq that accepts the long term nature of the challenge. Debate and dissent are healthy and necessary in our democracy, but the extreme wedge that currently divides our politics serves no American as well as it does Al-Qaeda and other enemies of the US. The next US President will make him or herself known when he/she brings the disparate US political factions together and genuinely develops a strategy for the future that we can all live with.
______________________________
Dr. Jon B. Alterman is the Director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). You can read his article, Managing Iraq, in the February 2007 Middle East Notes and Comment, published by CSIS.
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