Need some help with a foreign policy question on a forum...HELP.

[wgadget]

This woman is looking for specifics. Here is her post.


I'm not debating that there is plenty of blame to go around. You still haven't answered (nor has Ron Paul, as far as I know) What will happen? Risks/Benefits? if we pull out of Iraq now?

It's sort of like arguing that the lock on the barn door was too weak but the horse is already gone.

 

[haaaylee]

http://www.antiwar.com/paul/?articleid=11079

 

[Broadlighter]

Benefits: Troops will come home and we'll save a lot of money.

No more troops getting killed by terrorist attacks.

The world community will be happier that we are out of Iraq

Iraqis will have more impetus to solve their own problems.

Risks: Iraqis might be unable to solve their problems and lapse into bloody chaos, not that it's any different now.

Individual Iraqis might seek redress for crimes committed by U.S. military personnel.

Haliburton will lose an income stream.

Iran will exert more influence in the region.

Arab terrorists can claim they beat the mighty U.S.

 

[ClayTrainor]

http://www.antiwar.com/paul/?articleid=11079

This article explains it very well.

Inform this lady that the war on terror will come to an end, and the troops will come home, the decision of how bloody the outcome will be is up to washington.

If we stay, the dollar will continue to get weaker, until it's worth about as much as a german mark, then Iraq will be no longer sustainable and the war will be truly lost.

If we pull out now, no more americans die and america can focus on sealing up the borders with the military, which in turn would make america wayyyyyyyyy safer than today.

Another argument that could be used by the opposition, is that there is about 3000 iraqis in the american safe zone who will apperently be "slaugthered" when america leaves (according to the neo-cons and dems). My response to this is, escort all of them out of iraq first, before the troops, and make them refugees in america.

You guys can easily afford to do something like that once the costs of the war in iraq are cut! Dont listen to the bullshit the politicians will feed you to keep us in an unwinnable war until we cant sustain it anymore.;

 

[Knightskye]

What will happen? Risks/Benefits? if we pull out of Iraq now?

No one can predict what will happen. Risks? It could be chaotic, it might not be.

Benefits? The Iraqis might vote for a new president and run their own country. We wouldn't be spending so much money. The value of the dollar would go up. Oil prices would drop dramatically. We'd regain a little bit of trust from other countries around the world. We could stop losing so many young men and women. We could bring troops home from the rest of the world and start paying off the debt.

Seems like the benefits outweigh the risk - even though the risk isn't really something to worry about.

 

[wgadget]

Thanks, guys...This is what I ended up posting:

Well, at first I thought I would copy another quote from "The Revolution" for you, but I think I'll just go with a more personal response.

It seems that if we were to withdraw the troops today, which should be easily done with a new administration, the immediate effect would be like taking the pressure off the pressure cooker. The terrorists hate us for our foreign policy. The reason they hate us in the Middle East is because we have literally invaded their land by setting up military bases, bombing their people, setting up police states in their countries, and imposing sanctions on them. These countries have been engaging in what the CIA calls "blowback." When you remove the stinger of the bee, the pain is alleviated. It seems that to continue as we are, the pain will continue and fester, and the pressure will remain on the cooker.

I think that because of this pressure, we as Americans are LESS safe from a future attack rather than more safe, which is the common reasoning.

Another consequence of the war is our erosion of civil liberties. Because of our interference in the Middle East, we have been subject to the Patriot Act and many Executive Orders that have given the people less liberty, while giving the Executive more power. These will likely never be reversed, the nature of big government being what it is.

Almost too obvious to mention are the lives and injuries (both mental and physical) spared, and the untold BILLIONS of dollars saved. Our dollar would be spared the debasement it has been undergoing because of efforts to pay for the war, and would probably recover somewhat from just the announcement of withdrawal from Iraq. Regardless, our country is on the verge of bankruptcy and the war does not help matters.

 

[Frealism]

In all likelihood not much will happen. The area will fall back into religious wars, territory wars, local terrorism and civil wars just as it has since the beginnings of recorded history. We can only judge the future by what has happened in the past and the past dictates that the region will have wars with each other and fall into chaos from time to time regardless of what the US does or how long we stay there.

When we leave the region will go back to doing what it has done for thousands of years. Logic and history both tell us so. Once that happens they will be to busy fighting each other to come and get us all as the warmongers would have you believe. Furthermore most agree that 9/11 was a result of the blow back of having our armed military men and women spread throughout the world in many places including the middle east. Taking our troops out would stop stirring the pot, so to speak and the terrorists and extremists would turn there attention towards each other.

_____EDIT_______

I didn't realize you already responded, I didn't go down that far. Good response though!