Victory and Withdrawal
posted by Will
Theodore Sorenson and Arthur Schlesinger Jr., both aides to President Kennedy, give an account of JFK's considerations regarding withdrawal from Vietnam.
Again, this is the point that too many moderates like Hagel and Murtha are allowing to be sucked into the morass of jingoism and the rhetoric of "victory vs. defeat". Moderate critics need to be louder: victory requires a well-executed withdrawal.
cont'd after link
The key quote:
"If we leave Iraq at its own government's request, our withdrawal will be neither abandonment nor retreat. Law-abiding Iraqis may face more clan violence, Balkanization and foreign incursions if we leave; but they may face more clan violence, Balkanization and foreign incursions if we stay. The president has said we will not leave Iraq to the terrorists. Let us leave Iraq to the Iraqis, who have survived centuries of civil war, tyranny and attempted foreign domination.
Once American troops are out of Iraq, people around the world will rejoice that we have recovered our senses. What's more, the killing of Americans and the global loss of American credibility will diminish. As Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a Republican and Vietnam veteran, said, "The longer we stay, the more problems we're going to have." Defeatist? The real defeatists are those who say we are stuck there for the next decade of death and destruction."
We are not just nobly saving the Iraqis from terrorists, we are fighting the Iraqis. Can there be an argument for "staying the course" that meets Sorenson and Schlesinger's points head-on, without resorting to questioning critics' patriotism?
Again, this is the point that too many moderates like Hagel and Murtha are allowing to be sucked into the morass of jingoism and the rhetoric of "victory vs. defeat". Moderate critics need to be louder: victory requires a well-executed withdrawal.
cont'd after link
The key quote:
"If we leave Iraq at its own government's request, our withdrawal will be neither abandonment nor retreat. Law-abiding Iraqis may face more clan violence, Balkanization and foreign incursions if we leave; but they may face more clan violence, Balkanization and foreign incursions if we stay. The president has said we will not leave Iraq to the terrorists. Let us leave Iraq to the Iraqis, who have survived centuries of civil war, tyranny and attempted foreign domination.
Once American troops are out of Iraq, people around the world will rejoice that we have recovered our senses. What's more, the killing of Americans and the global loss of American credibility will diminish. As Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a Republican and Vietnam veteran, said, "The longer we stay, the more problems we're going to have." Defeatist? The real defeatists are those who say we are stuck there for the next decade of death and destruction."
We are not just nobly saving the Iraqis from terrorists, we are fighting the Iraqis. Can there be an argument for "staying the course" that meets Sorenson and Schlesinger's points head-on, without resorting to questioning critics' patriotism?
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