Reports President George W. Bush is planning to increase troops in Iraq should be of deep concern to every American. Without a commitment for a parallel action dismantling the current regime and installing a geographically balanced federal system that shares power among Shi’a, Sunni, Kurds and others in Iraq is misguided and represents human sacrifice of the worst order: the meaningless slaughter of American troops.
The suffocating grip of the neocons in the Bush administration that insist on trading blood for oil must be overcome, sooner than later if this country is to recover any shred of credibility in the eyes of the world.
The question that Bush must answer coming from every service man and woman must be, “Why must I risk my life?”
There has to be an answer to that question so compelling, that all Americans can find a way to support this war.
To date, all the reasons given for the occupying Iraq have been bogus: weapons of mass destruction, links to 9/11, terrorist training and threats to the region of been completely discredited.
There is no question that increased troops may be necessary if there is a change in the political strategy. Ultimately, the resolution of the conflict is political and economic; not military.
The execution of Saddam Hussein was grotesque but nevertheless, the hanging represented a significant opportunity to forge a solution to the Iraqi quagmire in the form of a federal government comprised of five geographic districts.
The most effective approach is the formation of a governing council where three sectors are led by Sunni, Shi’a and Kurd leaders respectively, another district led by a representative of a sixty/forty Shi’a and Kurd coalition and a fifth district led by sixty/forty, Shi’a and Sunni coalition. This five district approach and carefully balanced vote distribution merits serious consideration.
Such geographic segmentation underlying a democratically elected federal government is the best hope for peace in Iraq. Increased troop strength of a minimum of 20,000 can bolster the force necessary to achieve this governmental regime. But, it is imperative to understand the solution is not military but political. There can be no other solution that can ensure peace in the medium and long-term. To simply send troops in without a significant political will to redesign the power sharing structure of the Iraqi federal government is to simply sacrifice humans on the altar of neocon hubris.
The internal regime design must come with a credible and forceful regional military presence. That is understood by anyone but the political will communicated through allies of immediate and swift retribution for any movement not in the Iraqi and hence, not in the American national interest must come with it.
It now may seem trite to add, the total package of peace must include a context for an Israeli – Palestinian two-state peace. Anything less is unacceptable.
If the execution of Saddam Hussein is presented to the Sunni’s as a signal of resolve to dismantle their militias and bring down their military and political insurgent leaders, then it will have been a missed opportunity. And worse, it will have been an invitation for an open season on American troops.
It bears saying again, George Bush has the blood of thousands of American soldiers on his hands and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who made a commitment to democracy. The cry, of the true martyrs for Iraqi freedom, those American young men and women who have given their life and who continue to risk it every day, demands the death of Saddam Hussein be a step towards resolution of the American occupation and the best national hopes of all Iraqis and also all Americans.
A federal Iraq with a coalition of five leaders is the only and best hope for peace in the region. Without it, increasing troops is not only useless but deadly.
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This perspective first appeared in Border Observer, Jaime O. Perez, Editor