By Amir Nahavandi
the daily cardinal
Over the past week, events both inside and out of Iraq have unfolded in a manner largely undesirable for the small group of individuals who still cling to the notion that a slight change in U.S. policy could result in military victory for the U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Perhaps the most notable incident was the gathering of a massive crowd, at the request of the ""radical"" cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The demonstration, which numbered in the hundreds of thousands, protested the U.S. occupation and demanded an immediate withdrawal, all while chanting ""Death to America.""
Defense Secretary Gates announced the extension of all troop tours in Iraq and Afghanistan from 12 to 15 months, acknowledging that the military is stretched extremely thin. This comes as various studies have shown that a full 72 percent of U.S. troops favored ending the war in 2006.
These events are at the top of a long list that is the result of an incompetent and deceitful administration. It is clear this war is a tragic blunder. As a result, the U.S. has been steadily losing the war on terror because Al-Qaeda's actual basis for attacking America was the result of our foreign policy: supporting corrupt Middle-Eastern regimes, tour unqualified support for Israel and more recently the military occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Putting these recent events into the context of the already disastrous, brutal, illegal and unjustified occupation of Iraq can only lead to one viable solution: the U.S. and all its coalition forces must leave. Our very presence is fueling the insurgency, with at least 6 out of 10 Iraqis supporting attacks on U.S. troops. We have lost nearly all credibility abroad, and the recent elections show that the American people have demanded a significant change of policy.
Unfortunately, it has become largely apparent that the newly- elected majority of Democrats have no intention of pursuing legislation that would call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.
In an interview published by the New York Times, Hillary Clinton was more than clear when she stated a U.S. withdrawl of troops would turn it into a ""petri-dish for insurgents for Al-Qaeda."" This twisted rhetoric should be familiar to anyone who has seen a White House press conference. She further added that, ""It is right in the heart of the oil region. It is directly in opposition to our interests, to the interest of regimes, to Israel's interests.""
Clearly, we cannot rely upon the majority of our legislators to actively pursue anti-war legislation. As such, we must show them that we will not be complacent with their actions. We owe this much to the nearly 3,300 dead American soldiers who have died in this fiasco. We owe it to the 665,000 dead Iraqis and those who still face an increasingly intolerable lifestyle where they are subjected to humiliation, search and seizures, a lack of basic utilities and torture. We owe it to our own country.
Only a complete withdrawl of all U.S. troops can bring about an end to this war. The people of Iraq have the right to determine their own future and the longer we delay our exit, the less attractive it will become. For these reasons the Campus Anti-War Network asks for your presence and support this Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Library Mall. Together we can create a sustainable anti-war movement in pursuit of a better world.
