Five years on, the U.S. should stay longer in Iraq

Five years after the war began, the situation in Iraq still remains fragile and uncertain. These five years have been some of the hardest times Iraq has passed through in its contemporary history. For many in the country, rosy dreams of “liberation” and a promising future anticipated on April 9, 2003 the day that Baghdad fell, turned into tragedies and nightmares leaving one to wonder how much pain and agony a human being can take. \nIraq’s economic infrastructure, already seriously dilapidated as a result of Saddam Hussein’s absurd adventures and more than a decade of international sanctions, has been destroyed beyond measure. \nWith this gloomy picture on the ground, Iraq has turned into a serious election issue in the United States. The war is understandably becoming more and more unpopular with American voters. It has cost more blood and treasure on both sides than could have ever been expected. \nDespite all that has gone wrong and despite endless squabbles on the rightness or wrongness of this war, one thing is certain: Iraq should not be turned into an electoral commodity in the U.S. with which to gain votes. \nIt is true that there are no good options available to turn around the situation in Iraq in the short run. However, any electoral pledge based on a quick withdrawal of American troops from Iraq will only do more harm to Iraq and to the strategic interests of the U.S. in the Middle East. \nThe U.S., regardless of who the next president will be, has moral and political responsibilities to stay in Iraq for as long as it takes for a reasonable form of normalcy to emerge in that country. This moral responsibility is because the U.S. initiated the war, and it should not leave behind a destroyed country. The political responsibility is because any hasty pullout will pave the way for terror and violence to prevail in the whole country.\nAn early withdrawal will turn Iraq into a competing ground for its neighbors and their proxies. It will also deal a heavy blow to peace and the slim prospects for democracy in the greater Middle East region. From a potential launching pad for democracy in the Middle East, Iraq will transform into a launching pad for terrorism and extremism to the rest of world. \nOptions are swinging between bad and worse. The bad is what we have now, and the worse will be when the U.S. withdraws from the country and leaves a tragic situation to get even more tragic. \nHowever, as General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker told Congress last week, there are positive signs of a more vibrant political reconciliation process and considerable improvement of security in Iraq. While this degree of progress has been achieved, the U.S. should stay longer to further consolidate these gains and urge Iraqi leaders to do more.\nThe U.S. should keep its troops in Iraq until a functioning government and political system will eventually come into place in the country. That requires patience, determination and good planning on the part of both the U.S. and Iraq.