Now that U.S. forces are either out or about to leave, there is significant Iraqi hand-wringing over whether it was wise to force them to go now. For Sotal Iraq, columnist Amran Al-Obaidi writes that the decision-making process that has led to the American withdrawal was flawed, and that Iraqis who have demanded a complete U.S. pullout were more interested in scoring political points than the security and rebuilding of Iraq.
For Sotal Iraq, Amran Al-Obaidi writes in part:
In the early stages of setting up a new state, particularly on the ruins of a dictatorship, it is dangerous to deal unrealistically with critical issues. Rather than decision-making based on short-term political demands, such a situation requires a high degree of flexibility. Otherwise the opportunity to properly rebuild the nation could be lost.
Many have observed contradicting views on the subject. The first is an insistence that the Americans not maintain any future presence on Iraqi soil. The second is the reality: Iraq needs U.S. support to get passed the current difficulties, which would also prevent an inevitable and nearly-complete power vacuum. The distance between the two positions shows that talk of agreement on a formula that would be in the best interests of Iraq and its security were overly-optimistic.
I do not intend to justify the Americans’ remaining, nor do I wish to underestimate the capacity of Iraqis. But I mean to say that the way this issue has been handled was overshadowed by the media. That has led to political stubbornness and an insistence on a complete American withdrawal, despite very pressing matters that suggest they should remain. This can be seen in the broad political debate on this topic.
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