[Kaj]

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For the supporters of the US occupation, why should the US continue to occupy Iraq and for how long?

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I'm not an Iraq war supporter, and I'd like to see an answer to that question which doesn't involve a nebulous time-frame or shifting goals.

It's not a good enough answer to say "until Iraq has a stable, vibrant and healthy democracy in place, and can look after its own internal security needs". Why isn't that a good enough answer? Because that might never happen (at least in our lifetimes). Is the USA to stay for 50 years if it still hasn't happened? 20 years? 70? How long is the outside time parameter if those goals are NOT achieved?

Another problematic question you posed for us: why should the U.S. stay in Iraq? The typical politicians' answer is that "the stakes are high" and "we can't pull out without the country making more progress" Well, again...what if that doesn't happen? How long is the USA to keep riding jockey on a losing horse?

The big fallacy is the underlying presumption that a modern liberal democracy can and will occur in Iraq, if we only stay long enough. Why isn't this assumption openly often questioned? Why do politicians seem to accept it as a matter of fact and faith???

Once again the average American is proving wiser than our elected leaders. How perfectly ironic.

Thanks for reading.

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Good post, John.