Much to do about Iraq

[Twitch]

I recently got into an argument with my girlfriend about the situation in Iraq. I'm not asking you to make a "so there" post, there is no ulterior motive; I'm just wondering what the people think.

Situation: You have some sort of control over what happens, what would you do?

My side: Insert peace-corps, medics, political figures, aid stations, etc. Keep enough troops to defend American/British/etc positions and aid stations. Avoid direct contact and guide Iraq back into stability.

Her side: Pull everyone out immediately. Everyone. Forever.

For her, it's a moral thing. "We shouldn't have been there in the first place, so we should leave."

Me, it's more "We fucked it, we fix it."

If anyone has any other ideas, I'd love to hear them. Thank you.

[Led Zeppelin]

Get out of it, the reason the violence has been going on for so long is because foreign troops are in the country; the civil war would've ended long ago with one side being victorious if the foreign troops weren't there.

You're wrong, your girlfriend is right.

[Twitch]

Alright then, thank you for your reply.

I'm not arguing, just clarifying, I'm not sure if it read right (Not a very linguistic person.)
I'm not justifying our invasion or our continuation in the war. I'm saying we pull out the troops with the exception of a small guard unit whose only mission is to protect hospital workers. I'm against the war, I just think we should help the people we've hurt.

[Led Zeppelin]

The Iraqi's will defend their own hospital workers, don't worry about that. The foreign troops have done enough harm; it's time for them to fuck off now.

As I said, their presence is causing the violence to continue.

[Twitch]

Good point. I just feel guilty about what we've done. A better idea would be fucking off with the exception of maybe a bit of capitol to help them rebuild. The chances of a Marxist revolution happening in an area that religious is slim, so it'll help. They need it a lot more than the fat cats in power now.

[Led Zeppelin]

Well of course that would be helpful, but it wasn't the intention of the imperialists to make Iraq better; it was their intention to exploit the nation, that goal would be nullified if they exported capital into the nation.

They will never do that. I understand that you have good intentions though, but you shouldn't feel "guilty" for doing anything, it wasn't you who did it, it was the ruling class who did it and who should feel guilty. And it will be ruling class who will, sooner or later, pay for their historic crimes.

[Twitch]

Of course it wouldn't happen; this is mostly a what if question. But with the revolution close at hand, it would be a nice way to dispose of capitol.

Thank you for your input, comrade.

[BlakSheep]

I sort of agree with Twitch. Take out most of the soldiers, put in hospital workers, and start rebuilding. Put in negotiators to stop the civil war, and if necessary separate the country into three for each sect of the religion. To me it doesn't matter that it was the U.S. that started all of this, if I was in power I'd send help regardless just because innocent people are being harmed.

[Random Precision]

From a socialist viewpoint, I think staying in Iraq is indefensible. While I can see where you are coming from, the fact remains that the mentality of "we have to fix it" implies that the Iraqis cannot fix their country themselves. It's the "white man's burden" of the 21st century.

This article (http://www.isreview.org/issues/36/caseforwithdrawal.shtml), while kind of dated, sums up the argument for immediate withdrawal rather well.