tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11975115.post5437398252618369838..comments2023-10-24T03:24:31.708-07:00Comments on Pro Bono Geek: Thinking About the British WithdrawlSean Bakker Kellogghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05207916760145032411noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11975115.post-8272909903917109282007-03-22T19:08:00.000-07:002007-03-22T19:08:00.000-07:00I think your critique, while well intended, does n...I think your critique, while well intended, does not consider the full utility of the situation. Yes, leaving will create a vacuum which could threaten to destabilize not only Iraq, but the entire region. And yes, I would say we have an obligation to do whatever we can to fix the mess we made in Iraq. But neither of these admissions suggest that keeping a military presence in Iraq acheives our shared goals.<BR/><BR/>Consider the elephant who goes into the china shop. Upon breaking a priceless set of dishes, the elephant declares, "I have made this mess so it is my responsibility to clean it up." And so he tromps about the shop, looking for glue, all the while breaking more dishes. The shop owner pleads with the elephant, "please, leave my shop before you make it any worse," and the elephant responds, "I have a moral obligation, I must repair the damage I have done to you." So the shop owner flings himself in front the elephant, "please, just leave," he shouts and the elephant, single mindedly focused on his goal of fixing the broken china, <I>crushes</I> the proprioter's head beneath its giant feet.<BR/><BR/>Can you guess who the elephant represents here?Sean Bakker Kellogghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05207916760145032411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11975115.post-33204259756616632712007-03-11T13:10:00.000-07:002007-03-11T13:10:00.000-07:00Point well-taken. The poker analogy fails, howeve...Point well-taken. The poker analogy fails, however, in that on our situation there are options beyond bluffing and folding. While I am certainly not in the Bush cheerleading squad ("we stay until we win") I find more deploring the knee-jerk reaction of many of both sides of the political spectrum ("we leave now because we can't win"). If I were convinced our leaving would bring greater stability, I would be all for it. But that does not seem to be the case at all. The Iraqi military is not exactly 'up to speed' - indeed, certain actions so far have shown that the 'rule of law' may not be the motivating force for all the units. <BR/><BR/>My point is, we have to create a sustainable situation before we leave. The status quo is clearly no sustainable, but it seems to me pretty clear that an arbitrary withdrawal will lead to far more dire consequences. What does a solution look like? I don't know, but I think the summit involving Iran and Syria is a start.Karl Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13718050091013713562noreply@blogger.com