Los Angeles Times Editorial: Bring Them Home

Wednesday, 9 May 2007, 9:39 am
Opinion: Scoop Link

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Bring Them Home

Iraqis need political reconciliation, not occupation; and US troops shouldn't referee a civil war.

Whatever the future holds, the United States has not "lost" and cannot "lose" Iraq. It was never ours in the first place. And however history will judge the war, some key U.S. goals have been accomplished: Saddam Hussein has been ousted, tried and executed; Iraqis have held three elections, adopted a constitution and established a rudimentary democracy.

But what now? After four years of war, more than $350 billion spent and 3,363 U.S. soldiers killed and 24,310 wounded, it seems increasingly obvious that an Iraqi political settlement cannot be achieved in the shadow of an indefinite foreign occupation. The U.S. military presence - opposed by more than three-quarters of Iraqis - inflames terrorism and delays what should be the primary and most pressing goal: meaningful reconciliation among the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

This newspaper reluctantly endorsed the U.S. troop surge as the last, best hope for stabilizing conditions so that the elected Iraqi government could assume full responsibility for its affairs. But we also warned that the troops should not be used to referee a civil war. That, regrettably, is what has happened.

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See Full Story…
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050707N.shtml
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-iraq6may06,0,3257310.story

ENDS

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