Bill Richardson believes strongly that we need to pull out of Iraq immediately. And when i say immediately i mean he already has the escape plan all set up and ready to be executed. He feels that a slow evacuation would be an incredibly bad idea and refers to the Vietnam War where Nixon pulled American troops out slowly and in the process ended up with 21,000 dead American soldiers in his hands. Not only that, but once we got out communists came in and took over immediately. Bill also feels that are American forces are now only hindering the situation more. By staying in Iraq we are preventing other countries from helping to stabilize Iraq. When we leave neighboring countries will realize that if Iraq falls they will suffer consequences and be motivated to help. By doing this we will not only be able to help Iraq by getting neighboring countries involved but we will also be able to concentrate on finding the terrorists who attacked us on September 11.
Mr. Richardson seems to be pretty confidante in his decision on this topic, and that is what makes me sceptical of it all. If he finds it to be such and easy decision than i feel as though he has not thought it all the way through. But that is only an feeling because i am sure he has thought it through considering he is running for president. But then i am left with the conclusion that he is ignoring arguments from the other side because this is a topic that has been discussed over and over again and has never come to a simple conclusion that Mr. Richardson is suggesting in his article. Although i do have to admit that he makes some excellent points on why we should pull out. I just feel that some of his expectations could be quite a stretch. Making the decision to pull out can become a serious problem if his defence, that neighboring countries will come to aid Iraq, doesn’t quite happen. And if it does fail, all of that time and money we invested into this operation will be completely wasted. I like his idea, but when it comes right down to it i think it is way to risky.
“Why We Should Exit Iraq Now” by Bill Richardson (full text)
That’s quite a large assumption on his part that other countries will jump in to stabilize if we leave. Many of those neighboring countries aren’t to be trusted with good intentions.