Thread: Iraq: A new way forward

Hello guys,

I had come across a report produced by a Political Party about the future of Iraq and the region.

Interesting read....let me know what you guys think

Report: Iraq a new way forward

Regards

David

The report seems to be excellent and up to the point.

Kudos for the good find!

Big mistake trying to create an Iraqi "government." or an Iraqi "army."

Indeed. Anything the US creates in Iraq will be rightly seen as US powermongering, and rejected by the majority of the population. Iraq (as well as Palestine) should be subjected to a general referendum on the country's organization and future.

Based on a cursory read of the essay I would have to say that the writer is living in la la land. Not that he is naive, or loony, rather that he dreams rather than lives in the world that is.
Take his dream that the Arabs can rule themselves without Dictators if the west would stop propping them up. I don't think we are propping up Syria (Dictator), or Iran (Dictatorial regime), and we certainly were not propping up Nasser when he was a Dictator, or Saddam. My point is that the Arabs seem to be unable to have any sort of govt other than an authoritarian one, and whether we stay or leave down the road what will save/doom Iraq is the leader that will arise to rule them, and we have no say whatsoever about that.

Originally Posted by joetalmadge

Based on a cursory read of the essay I would have to say that the writer is living in la la land. Not that he is naive, or loony, rather that he dreams rather than lives in the world that is.
Take his dream that the Arabs can rule themselves without Dictators if the west would stop propping them up. I don't think we are propping up Syria (Dictator), or Iran (Dictatorial regime), and we certainly were not propping up Nasser when he was a Dictator, or Saddam. My point is that the Arabs seem to be unable to have any sort of govt other than an authoritarian one, and whether we stay or leave down the road what will save/doom Iraq is the leader that will arise to rule them, and we have no say whatsoever about that.

You need to read your history, of course we propped up Saddam, also we are directly responsible for Iran's leadership. 1953 Iranian coup d'état

Great report IMO and spot on.

Originally Posted by michaelr

You need to read your history, of course we propped up Saddam, also we are directly responsible for Iran's leadership. 1953 Iranian coup d'état

I know my history!
We did not bring Saddam to power. We aided him against Iran, then hedged our bets and sold weapons to Iran, hoping for a draw. Saddam was in no way our man. As for Iran we set up a Dictator, but the Iranians deposed him for....a Dictatorship, which now is totally opposed to us. My point remains: the ME will have Dictators, whether we support them or not, and to suggest that our stopping aid to Dictatorships will allow the Arabs to create govts for the people is ludicrous.

So to all those who claim to have read this report, just what is spot on just what is excellent? Rather than clapping could we have some analysis?

1. He wants us out of Afghanistan. Everybody in favor of letting the Taliban back in to lay waste to the land and invite in ALQ for some R&R.

2. Stop all aid to ME govts. Do you really want Egypt run by the Muslim brotherhood? Saudia Arabia by the Wahabis? Jordan by the Palestinians? Lebanon by Hezbollah.

3. Abandon Israel to it's own devices. OK I can go along with this, but I dare say that the Jewish lobby can still come through with a couple of billion a year, without asking the US taxpayer to chip in.

7. Allow the ME countries to have the bomb. Brilliant idea! They will, of course be controlled by the new friendly folks running the new ME govts.

Now that is a cursory analysis. Are there any questions?

Originally Posted by joetalmadge

Based on a cursory read of the essay I would have to say that the writer is living in la la land. Not that he is naive, or loony, rather that he dreams rather than lives in the world that is.
Take his dream that the Arabs can rule themselves without Dictators if the west would stop propping them up. I don't think we are propping up Syria (Dictator), or Iran (Dictatorial regime), and we certainly were not propping up Nasser when he was a Dictator, or Saddam. My point is that the Arabs seem to be unable to have any sort of govt other than an authoritarian one, and whether we stay or leave down the road what will save/doom Iraq is the leader that will arise to rule them, and we have no say whatsoever about that.

You are absolutely correct! It's an historical, cultural, and religious thing with them. You are not going to delegate change to these people.