USA Today letter published 7/12/07- Getting out of Iraq

Not likely a welcoming gesture to U. S. troops who are part of the "surge."

Dear Jim,
Way cool!
What you write?
Love
Bob

Nothing new. Let me know what you think of their edited version. Here's the original:

Dear Editor:

President Bush has once again asserted that the United States can’t leave Iraq before we achieve victory because “the terrorists” would follow us home. The biggest problem with this absurd analysis is the failure to consider what many military commanders on the ground in Iraq have long since concluded: American troops are the catalyst for much of the violence occurring there. If we can't even garner the support of the victims of the violence-- most of whom would vote to send America's military home tomorrow-- then we can't possibly achieve a military solution to the violent civil war which has taken Iraq far over the precipice of being a failed state.

There is one simple and obvious solution to the issue of the security of Iraq-- a solution which also addresses the harm being done to the interests of the United States. We need to replace American troops in Iraq with Arabic speaking Muslim peacekeepers. Both Jordan and Egypt are long standing U.S. allies in the region, and both have professional armies which would do a far better job of quelling violence without inflaming Islamic jihadists. We should pay those countries whatever it would take to defray the costs of rotating their armies in to relieve ours. Whatever the bill would be, it would be a bargain compared to the hundreds of billions we have flat out wasted over the last four years. By replacing our English speaking, mostly Christian troops with soldiers able to communicate verbally and empathize culturally with Iraqis, we will be taking the first steps towards ending the anarchy and the hell on earth which our actions have brought to that country.


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http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/07/swap-us-troops.html

Swap U.S. troops

James Finkelstein - Albany, Ga.

President Bush has said that U.S. troops can't leave Iraq before they achieve victory because the terrorists would follow the troops home.

But Bush is failing to consider what many military commanders on the ground in Iraq already know: American troops are the catalyst for much of the violence occurring in Iraq.

If the United States can't even garner the support of the victims of the violence, then it can't possibly end a violent civil war. The United States needs to replace U.S. troops in Iraq with Arabic-speaking, Muslim peacekeepers.

Both Jordan and Egypt are long standing U.S. allies in the region. They have professional armies that would do a far better job of quelling violence without inflaming Islamic jihadists.

The United States should pay those countries whatever it costs to do this. It would be a bargain compared with the hundreds of billions we have wasted over the past four years.

Posted at 12:08 AM/ET, July 12, 2007 in Foreign Affairs - Middle East - Letters, Iraq - Letters, Letter to the editor, Military issues - Letters, Politics, Government - Letters, Terrorism - Letters