White House, Joint Chiefs At Odds on Adding Troops

With violence and civil war escalating in Baghdad, the US Joint Chiefs of staff do not agree with a White House plan to send more troops into Iraq. Since the US invaded and overthrew tyrant Saddam Hussein in March 2003, Iraqi public services, political control and law enforcement have steadily deteriorated. Dedicated military troops can overthrow dictators, deliver bombs to pinpoint targets and control borders – but cannot force citizens of another nation to accept majority opinions or stop revenge killings, in sum ending centuries of hatred among ethnic and religious groups. With thousands of police tortured and murdered, many Iraqis have lost motivation to pursue careers in law enforcement. With US public opinion solidly turned against the war and military recruitment low, the US can only provide a short-term burst, which may do more to reinforce the long-term commitment of insurgents and militias, according to this article in “The Washington Post.” Indeed, the extremists could just wait out any new US troops. The US has lost credibility in the region, and the International Crisis Group proposes that the US make a “clean break” in Iraq – replaced by an international support group, including five permanent members of the UN Security Council and neighboring countries to Iraq, that presses for political compromise. Options for stabilizing Iraq are bleak, and the president has put US troops in an uncomfortable position for a war that, when it comes to the demographics of the region, was a terrible idea from the very beginning. – YaleGlobal