Reason Not to Withdraw

There are many reasons why the United States should not withdraw its 160,000 troops from Iraq. People often overlook some practical issues: namely removing all the equipment the U.S. has in Iraq. In the latest issue of Commentary, Max Boot writes how the U.S. has 45,000 vehicles in Iraq.

Think about this. It would take a colossal effort to remove that many vehicles. The worst move would be to leave those vehicles behind in an abrupt departure. Terrorists would take advantage of that and use these vehicles for their own benefit. We would essentially be arming the terrorists and insurgents.

More Surge Success

Yesterday, Michael O'Hanlon (Brookings Institution) and Kenneth M. Pollack (Saban Center for Middle East Policy) wrote an Op-ed for the New York Times praising the surge. They both recently returned from an eight day trip to Iraq.

They pointed out several things to be optimistic about.

1. The morale of American soldiers there has increased.

They write: "Today, morale is high. The soldiers and marines told us they feel that they now have a superb commander in Gen. David Petraeus; they are confident in his strategy, they see real results, and they feel now they have the numbers needed to make a real difference."

2. Decreased loss of innocent life.

They write: "[C]ivilian fatality rates are down roughly a third since the surge began."

3. Bad Iraqi partners have been rooted out

They write: "American advisors told us that many of the corrupt and sectarian Iraqi commanders who once infested the force have been removed. The American high command assesses that more than three-quarters of the Iraqi Army battalion commanders in Baghdad are now reliable partners."

4. Increased ethnic participation and cooperation

They write: "The Iraqi Army's highly effective Third Infantry Division started out as overwhelming Kurdish in 2005. Today, it is 45 percent Shiite, 28 percent Kurdish, and 27 percent Sunni Arab."

5. Iraqi population is fighting back against Al-Qaeda

The Iraqi population is getting fed up with Al-Qaeda's Sharia Law, violence, and stealing of their women. The people are fighting back.

They write: "The most important and best-known example of this is in Anbar Province, which in less than six months has gone from the worst part of Iraq to the best (outside the Kurdish areas). Today the Sunni sheiks there are close to crippling Al Qaeda and its Salafist allies."



( Quotes from "A War We Just Might Win" by Michael E. O'Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack published in the New York Times on July 30, 2007)

Oil Could Up the Ante in Iraq

(Map from Fox News)

So it is believed that Iraq might have more oil than we initially thought.

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2007/me_oil_07_18.asp

This could certainly up the ante and importance of Iraq. Do we want terrorists to seize a nation with such a valuable resource? They could use the oil to bribe other countries. This could threaten the global economy. They could also use profits from selling oil to purchase weapons of mass destruction.

At the same time, this information could compel Iran to interfere more with Iraq. Iran doesn't want a stable, democratic Iraq next door to compete in the oil business. Currently, Saudi Arabia has the largest oil reserves in the world, following by Iran.


If Iraq has as much oil as they estimate in this article, Iraq would take the number two spot and bump Iran to third. Iran's oil won't be as important to the world and their regional power could be diminished.

Let's keep a close eye on this revelation. It could affect the War In Iraq.