Letters to the Editor
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Who is winning and who does it help?
Anyone ever notice that none of us, especially folks like Lowry, are saying that the Iraqis are "winning and/or losing" the war? Isn't it their war now? Who is "the war" against anyway? Who are the combatants? Didn't the Iraqis have a big election in which they formed a government of elected representatives? Aren't they a representative republic now? If we left that country this very second, who would be left fighting and how long would it last?
It occurs to me that I really don't want us to "win" the "war" in Iraq. Setting aside, for the moment, that what we are doing over there is not waging a war but instead occupying a country, whose people despise us now, in order to secure a regional position and steal natural resources. Setting aside that our illegal war was won ages ago when we defeated Saddam's army. Setting all of that aside and going by the fantasy land, wingnut definition of what is happening over there, I still don't want us to win.
I want the Iraqi people to win and the truth of the matter is that they don't win if we win. If they win then they will be able to work out, amongst themselves, be it trough all-out civil war or peaceful means, their own future. Some self-determination. They will be able to restore their country and will be in charge of who to hire to help them do it. If we win none of that happens. The Iraqi people will be screwed just as the American people are screwed. Their government will be a puppet, faux republic/democracy as we have here. One that is controlled by the elites/aristocracy. And it won't even be controlled by their elite/aristocracy -- it will be controlled by ours.
Now the argument could be made that if we don't win then Iran wins and, as far as the Iraqis are concerned, that would probably be just as bad as us winning. Ok, perhaps, but that just further illustrates the problem. No one cares about what is best for the Iraqis. No one. So the Iraqi people are having to choose between Haliburton, McDonald's and Wal-Mart or Shi'ia dominated sharia law. Neither are good choices. I feel for them.