Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Why Democrats should stay in Iraq

I'm in the process of watching a movie. Before I tell you about the movie, I'll tell you that:

1. I'm a republican.
2. I think it was a good idea to invade Iraq
3. I acknowledge that Iraq is in a bad state, and we did them no favors by invading.

I'm watching "No End in Sight", and it's educating me about how what I believe was a good idea, became a tremendous mistake. I hoped that the United States could go and invade, rather bloodlessly(which did happen), and the help the Iraqi people build a democracy and then enjoy the freedom and education they could then provide for themselves. I'd like to think that I didn't believe(As many in the administration apparently believed) that it would be a quick in and out type of deal. I think I thought of it more in terms of what the United States did for Japan. I thought that we would be there for a few years, maybe even a decade or two, but that at the end, Iraq would be a modern nation, able to secure itself, and not wishing harm upon its neighbors. Instead, we are in Iraq, and we have been unable to get to the point where they don't wish to harm each other, and us. We haven't helped them build an economy, and their democracy is unwilling to serve at least a third of it's people. Democrats think we should leave, and as soon as possible, within a year or two. I think we should do better, and I think we can do better. I think that idiots have run the occupation, and that they put us in a bad situation that we are slowly digging out of. And we are digging out. Things are better now, but we still haven't done what we promised. I acknowledge that Iraqis say they want us to leave, but I claim(with little proof) that they want us to leave because of the idiocy that went on before, and have little faith in us to do better. I think we can do better, with a different president, a different administration, and a congress that doesn't call for us to quit every couple months. I don't even care if that different president is Republican or not, just so long as he is a good adminstrator, who will find smart, experienced people, and give them the money and authority they need. The only Democrat I know who isn't outright claiming that they will abandon Iraq is Hillary Clinton, so if that's what it takes, I would vote for her. At least I know that President Clinton(former) was good at choosing his subordinates, and I can hope that Hillary will do as well.