It seems the prevailing school of thought within Democrat and certain Republican spheres that a withdrawal from Iraq would be the wisest political choice for America. To be certain it would save many American lives that may potentially be lost in combat. But the truth of the matter is that a withdrawal would be the worst failure on a purely humanitarian basis in this century. With a country already tearing itself apart as the internal civil war is barely contained by coalition forces, what would happen when that restraining force evacuates? Genocide happens, pure and simple. And this is a truth that very few in the anti-War camp are prepared to confront. Indeed, as The Home of Atilla correctly mentioned, the moral courage to stick to the course is distinctly lacking from today’s politicians:

The sad truth is that moral courage is rare — whether among private citizens or among political leaders. Even opponents of the war have to admit that, given the polls, it takes no courage for a politician to call for American withdrawal from Iraq.

When the best thing to do in Iraq is to follow the surge through, maintain confidence in General Petraeus and have faith in the capability of the coalition’s men and women in uniform, the world turns away from this and ultimately bays for the blood of Iraq’s people.

Forget about premises for going to war and whatever moonbat theories folks have conjured over the true motives behind the war, the bottom line is that the country is not ready for independence. It’s incapable of policing itself. Do the left honestly think the Kurds will stay a part of Iraq if there is no American military presence? Of course not! They and their oilfields will secede from Iraq, effectively leaving the Sunni’s and Shias to tear each other apart while their greatest natural resource slips out of their hands. As for Al Qaeda and the many non-western countries who have their fingers in the Iraqi pot, they won’t simply vanish from the country once the coalition pulls out. A lawless country neck-deep in a power struggle is a prime piece of real estate for AQ to establish a real foothold in Iraq, the consequences from which are more disturbing than I care to think about. So while the world demands with a frothy-mouthed fervour not seen since Vietnam for a withdrawal, the real tragedy will be the thousands of innocents killed at the hands of Sunni Arabs, Sadr’s Mahdi Army or AQ Jihadists running loose in the country.

Of course there is the argument for an interim UN-sponsored peacekeeping force to intervene and take over. But as has been seen time and time again with the UN and it’s ‘missions’, from Sierra Leone to Lebanon, the UN’s blue helmets are too bogged down by unreasonable rules of engagement and bureaucracy to be able to prevent the country from ripping itself apart. That’s not mere opinion, it’s fact. The blue helmets have almost without exception exemplified the epitome of a toothless military organisation. What will happen will be an intense sectarian struggle for dominance, resulting in the ascension of a single dominant leader, at this point likely to be al-Sadr and his goons, and the emergence of a second Iraqi dictatorship. This could then be extrapolated to Shia dominance in the region, including mutual support with Iran and her benefactors, creating far more instability than a mere war could ever produce. This is something I believe the UN would not only allow, but may even condone.

So many people will die, and instead of guilt, the anti-War naysayers will turn around and tut-tut the pro-war right with a million “I told you so’s.” Gleefully revelling in their self-righteous indignation at an outcome which could be entirely prevented, yet was so clearly inevitable. Those tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who will die in the ensuing bloodbath will not, despite what the left might say, be on the hands of the hawks and failed strategists, but instead on that cowardly majority who, to their eyes, a withdrawal would be seen as the ultimate triumph over US ‘imperialism’. I guess for many it’s more important to be right than to count the bodies.