Gary Kasparov on the end game in Iraq
December 3rd 2006 10:46
Gary Kasparov, one of the all time greatest chess champions writes in Wall Street Journal. His piece is perhaps the best, the most rational piece written in support of troop withdrawal in Iraq. It's such a relieft to read somebody who is taking that psotion without being snide about America or George Bush. This is the part I liked best:
So what then, to do? "Mission accomplished" jokes aside, the original goals in Iraq--deposing Saddam Hussein and holding elections--have been achieved. Nation-building was never on the agenda, and it should not be added now. All the allied troops in the world aren't going to stop the Iraqi people from continuing their civil war if this is their choice. As long as Muslim leaders in Iraq and elsewhere are unwilling to confront their own radical elements, outsiders will be spectators in the line of fire.
Pinning resposnibility of the "civil war" on Iraqis themselves, that's not usually done.
I do not agree with his argument which is mainly based on the premise that the status quo is not working. His main worry is that Iraq has drawn so much of America's attention that the the rest of the world is falling to pieces without its effective policy oversight. That's a legitimate worry but it is rather heartless from American and Iraqi(mainly Kurdish ) perspectives that it should disengage from Iraq and start paying attention to other trouble spots.
Mr.Kasparaov has retired from chess career and founded a group to prevent Russia from relapsing into totalitarianism. He might be more careful for we can't lose more good men to Poison Putin.
So what then, to do? "Mission accomplished" jokes aside, the original goals in Iraq--deposing Saddam Hussein and holding elections--have been achieved. Nation-building was never on the agenda, and it should not be added now. All the allied troops in the world aren't going to stop the Iraqi people from continuing their civil war if this is their choice. As long as Muslim leaders in Iraq and elsewhere are unwilling to confront their own radical elements, outsiders will be spectators in the line of fire.
Pinning resposnibility of the "civil war" on Iraqis themselves, that's not usually done.
I do not agree with his argument which is mainly based on the premise that the status quo is not working. His main worry is that Iraq has drawn so much of America's attention that the the rest of the world is falling to pieces without its effective policy oversight. That's a legitimate worry but it is rather heartless from American and Iraqi(mainly Kurdish ) perspectives that it should disengage from Iraq and start paying attention to other trouble spots.
Mr.Kasparaov has retired from chess career and founded a group to prevent Russia from relapsing into totalitarianism. He might be more careful for we can't lose more good men to Poison Putin.
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