Torture in Iraq

[weaktwos]

So, Mr. Allawi comes out yesterday and claims that the New Iraq is engaging in practices similar to that of Iraq Classic.

My reactions:
1. Not surprising when you have insurgents everywhere blowing everyone to bits. It's real hard to be kind, loving, and truly democratic in those conditions.
2. The fact that he's saying this now when the United States is suggesting an exit strategy makes me wonder if he doesn't want to drum up more support for the U.S. to continue a presence there. I don't think 2-3 years of occupation is going to change the Iraqi culture successfully.

My opinion so far, which is subject to change with more information: we should not have gone to war against Iraq, but that now that we have become involved, we need to ensure its success. However, if I come to believe that it's not possible to create a democracy in this fashion, a notion which I am leaning towards, maybe we should cut and run. Sure, we're not marines, but then that's why I'm not in the armed forces.

Comments

Re: create a democracy ...

[weaktwos.livejournal.com]

Well, whatever happens as a result of our invasion of Iraq...this charge was lead by our country, we are responsible for. It was a bad idea, for certain. Whether or not we stay in there should probably be weighed in practical terms. For example, if we withdraw, we have less soldiers deployed. However, what will happen to the middle east, and will there be spillover effects be it in oil, or more terrorism. I'm not sure, yet. But we demolished the country and killed thousands of people, lost thousands of our own. To walk away and let the country bounce back into it's barbaric state is a bit wrong.