War View

We should be calling for Rumsfeld's resignation. I understand that people want the troops to return home, but we cannot leave Iraq more broken than it was before we left. We cannot leave Iraq without the infrastructure of electricity, water, education, and a government.

Of course, it's unlike that Rumsfeld will ever resign or be fired. It's also unlikely that Bush could ever find a more loyal and incompetent manager of the rebuilding effort. So if it can't be done correctly, then I'll agree with bringing the troops home as soon as possible.

As I understand it, the Sunnis are the most uncooperative group. Trying to get the Shiite to police them would result in a bloodshed and civil war. Having them police themselves would likely close them off from the rest of the government. Sending a message to the Iraqis that we are getting impatient will only embolden the insurgency. Though I cannot see another way to get out.

It's possible that the anti-war coalition's idealistic belief that "after we leave, the 5,000-year-old civilization since the time of Babylon will re-assert itself" is an idea we should seriously consider. Then again, the time between that reassertion and our departure must not be a power vacuum.

EDIT: I shouldn't say "correctly," I should say "the best that could be done to rebuild a country that is ready to turn against you, the best that could be done without aimless quagmire and denials."