Anti-imperialist Activist
Retired Lieutenant General Bernard Trainor claims that Iraq is a power struggle, for who is going to run the “political fiction” called Iraq, and our military has been incidental to this process and will remain incidental. The media and members of Congress refer to the Iraqi government as an entity. However, the so called Iraqi government exist only inside the Green Zone.
Stan Goff is an anti-imperialist activist, writer and an Army veteran, who served from 1970 to 1996. He points out that the Maliki government relies on our military to survive. The armed forces being trained for his “government” are themselves loyal to factions with agendas, and filled with opportunists and infiltrators. Iraq is not merely Sunni against Shia. There are three major armed Shia factions, two major Sunni armed factions, and a Kurdish militia of 100,000 that resides in the north, which is also divided into two camps. None of these fractions can possibly gain control of the entire Iraqi population.
Goff insists that various sectors of the Iraqi population share the goal of stability in order to rebuild. That goal cannot be accomplished without negotiations between the various groups. Most Iraqis supporting armed resistance against the Anglo-American occupation, and American support for an Iraqi government is not preventing sectarian violence, it’s incubating it. Goff believes that there may be some fighting in Iraq after a withdrawal, but the balance of forces are most likely to produce negotiations rather than protracted civil war. At any rate, it is not the role of our government to shape the future of Iraq, because they are far more qualified to figure out a solution than the our Departments of State and Defense.
Stan Goff wrote that exiting Iraq is not a strategy; it’s a command. Elaborate plans about how to withdraw are the responsibility of the military commanders, not Congress. Leaving Iraq is a technical and tactical exercise. What is required of Congress is the political will to de-fund the war. De-funding the war should not put troops in danger. Specific conditional allocations of funds can be made available for the sole purpose of conducting a redeployment.
Americans want out of Iraq and they will remember who had the courage to act. Congress has one weapon to use against the Bush regime and that is the power of the purse. Cut the funds for the war, and bring the troops home now.
Stan Goff is an anti-imperialist activist, writer and an Army veteran, who served from 1970 to 1996. He points out that the Maliki government relies on our military to survive. The armed forces being trained for his “government” are themselves loyal to factions with agendas, and filled with opportunists and infiltrators. Iraq is not merely Sunni against Shia. There are three major armed Shia factions, two major Sunni armed factions, and a Kurdish militia of 100,000 that resides in the north, which is also divided into two camps. None of these fractions can possibly gain control of the entire Iraqi population.
Goff insists that various sectors of the Iraqi population share the goal of stability in order to rebuild. That goal cannot be accomplished without negotiations between the various groups. Most Iraqis supporting armed resistance against the Anglo-American occupation, and American support for an Iraqi government is not preventing sectarian violence, it’s incubating it. Goff believes that there may be some fighting in Iraq after a withdrawal, but the balance of forces are most likely to produce negotiations rather than protracted civil war. At any rate, it is not the role of our government to shape the future of Iraq, because they are far more qualified to figure out a solution than the our Departments of State and Defense.
Stan Goff wrote that exiting Iraq is not a strategy; it’s a command. Elaborate plans about how to withdraw are the responsibility of the military commanders, not Congress. Leaving Iraq is a technical and tactical exercise. What is required of Congress is the political will to de-fund the war. De-funding the war should not put troops in danger. Specific conditional allocations of funds can be made available for the sole purpose of conducting a redeployment.
Americans want out of Iraq and they will remember who had the courage to act. Congress has one weapon to use against the Bush regime and that is the power of the purse. Cut the funds for the war, and bring the troops home now.
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