The courage to be serious would mean something quite different. It would mean, not this bloodless, venti-decaf-latte substitute for passion, but real hatred of America's actions and single-minded, furious determination to get every last 'coalition' soldier off Iraqi soil, as soon as possible, by any means necessary. No ifs ands or buts about democracy, just get them out. Anyone who really believed in the Iraqis' right to their own damn country would not be fussing about whether their projected form of government or mode of self-determination matched American leftist ideals. This in none of our business, not least because it is mere insolence to presume that we know what the Iraqis want or how they should get it. Link
Neumann seems to hit on something rather critical: the endless jawboning about "exit strategies" in the Iraq debacle seem to have something in common. Namely, almost regardless of ideology, there's an assumption that leaving Iraq will be done on "our" terms. One of the themes I've tried to express on this blog is that it is not up to me, or you or any other American (or European for that matter) to dictate how the Iraqis should govern themselves, to conduct their lives and commerce. It is extremely arrogant to assume that we can or should do so. Rather, the Iraqi people know their cultures and politics considerably better than we do and are fully capable of determining for themselves what form(s) of government will work best for them. Our input in the internal affairs of Iraq are irrelevant. Our only obligation is to butt out, and that means bringing the troops, mercenaries, and profiteers home. Period.
I honestly don't know what the "best" way for leaving Iraq would be. What I do know is that we must leave, and do so in a way that respects the humanity of the people who live there.
Quick note: I've been reading Frantz Fannon's classic "The Wretched of the Earth" over the last couple days, and find that his analysis of the psychology of the colonialists and anti-colonialist nationalist movements is every bit as relevant today as it was back in the early 1960s. I will be commenting more at length on some of the insights I've been gleaning from Fannon's work at some point in the near future.
Cross-posted at my blog, The Left End of the Dial.
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