Lazarus Austin is a junior majoring in history. He can be contacted at [email protected].Over Fall Break, a new report showed that the death tolls for the U.S. military and Iraqi civilians in Iraq have decreased significantly. In particular, Iraqi civilian deaths from the war decreased by more than 50 percent in one month.
When I first heard the news, I was excited for two reasons.
First, fewer deaths is a good thing.
Second, I thought it was foolproof evidence the troop surge is working and that progress is indeed happening. Moreover, it was the perfect argument to stay in Iraq until the situation has stabilized.
Then, I did some research – you know, that eight-letter dirty word that critics conveniently forget about when it comes to making a stand on issues?
Turns out, these figures are approximately the same as last summer. This leads me to ask, is it really progress, or is it just a part of the pattern?
On the other hand, the report comes three weeks after Gen. Petraeus saying in his testimony to Congress that the troop surge is indeed working and that progress is being seen.
However, many people, including our esteemed opinion editor, saw Petraeus’ testimony as a stalling tactic meant to induce optimism and foster support.
Many people are drawing comparisons to such tactics used during the Vietnam War.
During Fall Break, my Arnold Air Society training class completed its first service project by visiting the Veterans Affairs hospital in Jackson.
While at the VA hospital, I had the opportunity to talk to many veterans, most of whom had served in Vietnam.
One in particular talked about the Iraq war and its similarity to Vietnam.
Our conversation and the fact that I plan on being an officer in the Air Force have helped me truly to value the members of our armed forces and not to use them so easily as tools to enforce our foreign policy.
In other words, I am very reluctant to support sending off our soldiers to fight.
It may look like I am very anti-Iraq war and that I think we should pull out all of our troops now. However, this is not the case.
At this point, it doesn’t matter whether we should have invaded Iraq in the first place.
Completely pulling out right now or in the near future would do nothing but invite disaster now and in the long run.
America still suffers the scars of Vietnam. I saw it firsthand during Fall Break.
Right after we pulled out, the Communist North took over the South and undid all of our work. To paraphrase the Vietnam vet I talked to, there were 60,000 dead and 305,000 wounded American soldiers, “all for nothing.”
We tied our troops hands behind their backs, took away their gains and defamed them, all for nothing.
Yet, now those very critics who point to the Vietnam War as a reason to pull out completely and give up are actually repeating history.
Pulling out now will simply undo everything we have worked for. As someone who values the effort by our armed forces, I do not want the already 3,800 soldiers’ deaths to be in vain.
Furthermore, several years from now, what will people think? When our kids read their textbooks, they will read about how we invaded a country and left it after a few years, in worst shape than when we arrived.
No other country could ever trust us again. It will motivate terrorists to follow the Iraqi terrorists’ examples. More importantly, the war will follow us back home.
Pulling out is exactly what terrorists want.
“The American people had risen against their government’s war in Vietnam. And they must do the same today,” Osama bin Laden was quoted as saying in a Pakistani newspaper.
We are stuck now between a rock and a hard place. But as much as it stinks, we have to finish what we started. Our reputation will forever be ruined and will contribute to anti-Americanism around the world.
I think Petraeus is genuine when he claims we are making progress. If this month’s reduced death toll is any indication we are on the right path, an immediate full-scale pullout would be the worst thing to do.
People are always looking for quick solutions. That is why so many people want to pull out. The long-term future is unimportant. I mean, who cares about the safety and livelihood of our children and grandchildren?
In Vietnam, the politicians tied our soldiers’ hands behind their backs. Fortunately, that hasn’t been as much of a case in Iraq.
However, we need to be careful not to get so frustrated that we ignore the advice of those running the war in Iraq, particularly our military leaders.
Also, as in Vietnam, we cannot allow ourselves to be bullied by other nations. In Vietnam, it was China. In Iraq, it is Iran.
Iran has continuously and undoubtedly been supplying our enemies with weapons and training. Yet, we are not doing anything about it.
Throughout all of Vietnam, and even in Korea, we repeatedly allowed the other country to slaughter our people and disturb the peace without retaliating.
I fervently believe that Iran’s involvement has significantly influenced the outcome of the Iraq war after the invasion. If it had not been for their sponsorship of terrorism, the rock and a hard place we are stuck between would not be so formidable.
Why should we continue to allow them to impede Iraq’s progress and slaughter our troops and Iraqi civilians, as we did with China during Vietnam and Korea?
We need to untie our hands from behind our backs and do something about it. A few Air Force bombs on known Iranian targets and Revolutionary Guards positions might be a good start. It could end up saving thousands of American and Iraqi deaths in the future.
I value the lives of our soldiers. It is for that reason I think we should stay in Iraq a little while longer.
Do not let those who have died to have done so in vain. Progress in Iraq has been slow, but steady.
Listen to Petraeus. Give the troop surge a chance to show more results. This past month’s low death toll could only be the tip of the iceberg and the beginning of a new era for Iraq.