We’re tied up in diplomatic knots with the Iraqi government over what to do regarding US forces in Iraq. As this news story notes, we’re not able to come to a complete agreement on how many troops will be in Iraq; for how long; where based; legal issues regarding the independent actions of US forces…pretty much the whole ball of wax, and so what is looked for now is a temporary arrangement to carry the US/Iraqi relations through from the end of the UN mandate on December 31st and the end of 2009. This, of course, will leave the final disposition of Iraq to President Bush’s successor. This means that whatever President Bush envisioned is at least partially set aside and that we don’t know for certain what a President McCain or Obama will do – its all rather up in the air. Here’s what I hope for:
1. A defensive military alliance with Iraq. This will have to be carefully scripted for Iraqi benefit vis a vis our alliance with Israel, but we’ll want an agreement that Iraq will maintain, at least, a benevolent neutrality should we engage in war with Iran, that Iraq will engage in no offensive combinations against Israel, and a right of US intervention should Iran ever attack Iraq. The Iraqi army should be re-equipped, as far as we can convince them to do so, on the American pattern and we should greatly encourage Iraqi military, air and naval officers to train in the United States. We’re trying to build a long-term friendship here.
2. At least two semi-permanent military installations with no more than 50,000 total US personnel based in Iraq – preferrably out in the middle of the Iraqi nowhere and up in Kurdistan. The idea here is two-fold. To provide a “trip wire” should either Iran or Turkey seek to upset the post-war Iraqi settlement and, of course, to secure the military purpose of going into Iraq at all – the ability to project American power into the heart of the middle east. I would still keep our primary miltiary focus on the Persian Gulf – with basing in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates being far more important given (a) the relative weakness of these States and thus their dependence on a de-facto US protectorate against Iran and (b) our ability to keep major forces outside of the main Arab lands.
3. A bi-lateral free trade agreement.
4. A pledge of US diplomatic support for Iraq in all non-military conflicts with Syria, Iran and Turkey.
That would suffice because, remember, the ultimate point of liberating Iraq is to place into the middle east a functioning, democratic government able to sustain itself against internal and external threats…in the end, it doesn’t matter if the Iraqis vote against us, as long as they vote. The key to winning the War on Terrorism has always been in a free choice by the Arab people to renouce terrorism – and the only way to get that action is by setting up a system where Arabs can choose. Our bet, as it were, always has been that given a free and fair choice, the peoples of the Arab world will choose to live and build rather than kill and destroy.
Keep in mind that as we transition from war to peace in Iraq, there will be bumps in the road – the Iraqis, justifiably, will want to stand up to us and be seen by the world – especially the Arab world – as standing up to us. We must be patient – and always approach the Iraqi people with a sense of understanding for their desire to be proud of their own nation. It is their country – we are in the process of a noble act and nothing can take away from the United States the fact that we sent our best thousands of miles from home to fight for the liberty and dignity of a foreign people. Are reward is the knowledge that after a half century of playing the cynical game of real-politic, we finally went out as Americans and did the completely right thing.
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