Lew Rockwell Says the US Will Leave Iraq Next Year
In an article freh off the presses, Lew Rockwell makes a few predictions...
"The unworkability of the occupation and public pressure will force the US to leave Iraq at some point in the next year. The neocons will scream that the failure was due to doves in the Bush administration. Bush himself will go down in history as a dupe, or a tragic figure at best. Iraq will become decentralized politically, intolerant religiously, and continue to be violent, dangerous, and poor for many years. The ostensible head of the Iraqi state will receive the grudging backing of the US because there will be no choice. And the American people will forget about the place, just as they have forgotten about Panama, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Libya, and all the other lucky beneficiaries of US bombs."
While I still don't see much momentum in that direction quite yet. Rockwell goes on to provide great insight into the meaning of recent events...
"In all the talk of the calamity of this war, never forget the broader picture: what an incredible opportunity was squandered after the end of the Cold War. The US had emerged as the universally acknowledged ideological victor in that forty-year struggle. That the Cold War was not actually an ideological struggle so much as a classic standoff between two evil empires is irrelevant for understanding the implications of this fact: totalitarian communism collapsed while the free economic system of the market economy remained standing in total triumph. The world was ready for a new period of genuine liberalism, and looking to the US. On the verge of an amazing period of technological advance, we were perfectly situated to lead the way.
There had never been a time in US history when George Washington's foreign policy made more sense. A beacon of liberty. Trade with all, belligerence toward none. Commercial engagement with everyone, political engagement with as few as possible. The hand of friendship. Good will. This was the prescription for peace and freedom. It was within our grasp. Our children might have grown up in a world without major political violence. A world of peace and plenty. It could have been."
God willing, it still may be...
Read Lew's Article at LRC
"The unworkability of the occupation and public pressure will force the US to leave Iraq at some point in the next year. The neocons will scream that the failure was due to doves in the Bush administration. Bush himself will go down in history as a dupe, or a tragic figure at best. Iraq will become decentralized politically, intolerant religiously, and continue to be violent, dangerous, and poor for many years. The ostensible head of the Iraqi state will receive the grudging backing of the US because there will be no choice. And the American people will forget about the place, just as they have forgotten about Panama, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Libya, and all the other lucky beneficiaries of US bombs."
While I still don't see much momentum in that direction quite yet. Rockwell goes on to provide great insight into the meaning of recent events...
"In all the talk of the calamity of this war, never forget the broader picture: what an incredible opportunity was squandered after the end of the Cold War. The US had emerged as the universally acknowledged ideological victor in that forty-year struggle. That the Cold War was not actually an ideological struggle so much as a classic standoff between two evil empires is irrelevant for understanding the implications of this fact: totalitarian communism collapsed while the free economic system of the market economy remained standing in total triumph. The world was ready for a new period of genuine liberalism, and looking to the US. On the verge of an amazing period of technological advance, we were perfectly situated to lead the way.
There had never been a time in US history when George Washington's foreign policy made more sense. A beacon of liberty. Trade with all, belligerence toward none. Commercial engagement with everyone, political engagement with as few as possible. The hand of friendship. Good will. This was the prescription for peace and freedom. It was within our grasp. Our children might have grown up in a world without major political violence. A world of peace and plenty. It could have been."
God willing, it still may be...
posted by Dust at 07:58
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