Random Thoughts, Notes, & Incidents

I've just added a bit of clarification to the article I posted yesterday - I'll add that in here, too:

But, now that the commitment to war has been made, can we "just pull out"? The unfortunate answer is that pulling out with Saddam still in power would simply make a bad situation worse for everyone except Saddam.

What I do believe can happen (and must happen) is a peace agreement brokered by one of our moderate Arab allies (Saudi Arabia has hinted that they want to do this - Egypt and Jordan may be other possibilities). This agreement should put Saddam in exile, at a minimum, and end the US & British invasion.

This accomplishes the goal of removing Saddam and allowing a peaceful transition to a moderate regime. This would disarm Iraq and put the US in a better light internationally for being willing to negotiate and use diplomacy. Most importantly, however, it accomplishes the larger goal of discouraging terrorism. Let me explain:

By including moderate Arab leaders in the process they demonstrate to the Arab world that they can "stand up to the west" and solve their own problems. This grows the power of the moderates and takes away the recruiting edge of Osama bin Laden and other extremists. If these populations see that secular leaders can protect their interests peacefully, they'll have no need to turn to terrorism.

Read the full article at Writing.com