Posted on May 13, 2015
What is our current exit strategy from Iraq?
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Well, it may seem alot different now.....but we are back in Iraq. So....what sort of exit strategy do we have with Iraq now?
Posted in these groups: 
Strategy
Foreign Policy
Strategy Foreign Policy
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 17
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Sadly the Treaty of Balfour severely dismantled the region in terms of different ethnic groups throughout the Middle East. Indeed, the crumbling of the old empires across the world had probably left the biggest problem set by establishing nation-states with illogical borders. We will continue to answer the call to return to Iraq due to the guilt at having not stabilized the region. Truthfully this is a problem best left to the different ethnic groups within the region. Iraq will continue to suffer the chaos that other newly independent states have suffered since the stability of the Cold War has ended. I believe we should exit after we have established a trusteeship of nations within the region to help Iraq along. A timetable would be in order and unfortunately the major players wuld have to be Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, with the US in an infrastructure and monetary support role. Otherwise Iraq will be easy prey for any regime that covets its wealth.
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SGT Jeremiah B.
This is spot on. We can see the same thing in Africa with borders drawn by Colonialists and desperately being preserved by despots.
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I don't think we will ever get out until the "illegitimate children" of England's and France's menage a trois with the middle east are deliquesced back into the surrounding sands. When WWI ended the Ottoman Empire was sliced up and offered more or less as plunders of war to England and France. No surprise that the interjection of western culture and glaring indifference caused issues with the locals. Because of this approach on foreign policy way back when much of the unrest that we see today is a result of these unhealed wounds. When England and France literally drew lines in the sand and created Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Israel and Palestine they caused a tremendous about of unrest in the region. And like in so many other places when the cannibals grew restless these guys bolted. So pre WWII we come to the region to lure the Middles East away from Russia in an effort to protect our interest (oil) as well as stem the spread of communism. So as it was with the British and French the Arab Spring comes to full bloom we ourselves having enough bailed only to return to stabilize the region with more war and unrest. All of this is layered on the civil unrest within the Muslim religion as well as the extremist ideology flowing from the region to get us to where we are today.
So in simple terms and to get to my point lets say the region is a milkshake - our foreign policy is shit - and for the last 50 years we have been putting shit into the milkshake and pulverizing it with our blender - the military - expecting the milkshake to get tastier in the process. So now we have 3 choices: drink the milkshake as it is, pick out all the shit or leave it sitting on the counter. All scenarios present their own problems. Drinking it is going to leave a bad taste in our mouth - this is the region telling us what to do, pick out all the shit - could be damn near impossible and result in a long presence in the region or we could leave it on the counter - only delays the inevitable cleanup of the region. So in my opinion our best option at this point is picking all the shit out of our milkshake. No one else is going to want to do it, its going to take time and money, and its going to be hard work but this choice gives us the best chance at enjoying a palatable shake.
So in simple terms and to get to my point lets say the region is a milkshake - our foreign policy is shit - and for the last 50 years we have been putting shit into the milkshake and pulverizing it with our blender - the military - expecting the milkshake to get tastier in the process. So now we have 3 choices: drink the milkshake as it is, pick out all the shit or leave it sitting on the counter. All scenarios present their own problems. Drinking it is going to leave a bad taste in our mouth - this is the region telling us what to do, pick out all the shit - could be damn near impossible and result in a long presence in the region or we could leave it on the counter - only delays the inevitable cleanup of the region. So in my opinion our best option at this point is picking all the shit out of our milkshake. No one else is going to want to do it, its going to take time and money, and its going to be hard work but this choice gives us the best chance at enjoying a palatable shake.
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MSgt (Join to see)
Exit Strategy? I thought that was some stupid Liberal Talking point to make Bush look bad.
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SPC David S.
MSgt (Join to see) I'm a little confused as to your conclusion of this being about Bush. Hardly a Bush bashing than more so a 10,000 foot perspective of the issue and how we got to where we are. I think in order to get out of the box it helps to understand how we got in the box to begin with. As to the execution of an exit strategy I would think that checking off a number of clear eyed objectives would be prerequisite in order for that to happen.
1) Stop the infighting in Iraq - more likely via genocide of a religious sect in order to achieve this objective.
2)Develop the capabilities of sovereign security forces to sustain this effort that is not susceptible to corruption or intimidation.
3)Create ownership of the problem of other more stable key players in the region like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel - good luck in getting these 3 in the same building let alone same table.
4) Stop extremist ideology/degrade or eliminate extremist factions - again would require a lot of resources and more bloodletting
5) Rebuild economic resources and infrastructure to create stable economy
6) Once all the above are checked off we pack up our stuff and go home.
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-official-no-exit-strategy-against-isis-2015-3
1) Stop the infighting in Iraq - more likely via genocide of a religious sect in order to achieve this objective.
2)Develop the capabilities of sovereign security forces to sustain this effort that is not susceptible to corruption or intimidation.
3)Create ownership of the problem of other more stable key players in the region like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel - good luck in getting these 3 in the same building let alone same table.
4) Stop extremist ideology/degrade or eliminate extremist factions - again would require a lot of resources and more bloodletting
5) Rebuild economic resources and infrastructure to create stable economy
6) Once all the above are checked off we pack up our stuff and go home.
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-official-no-exit-strategy-against-isis-2015-3
Top US official: There is no exit strategy for the war against ISIS
The military does not have a strategy beyond the total destruction of ISIS.
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SPC David S.
Eight year drift in foreign policy interdependent on economic policy. Goes way back to the Red Line Agreement. I know most will say we are there because of the war on terror however I would argue that today's environment is derived from the preceding events in protecting these interests. There is also our relationship with Egypt and Israel and the 1953 coup in Iran. I think it is a culmination of these events not one particular event. I feel that our foreign policy for the region is guided by the oil industry - US oil industry rakes in over $1.1 trillion a year. I'm not saying this is good or bad it just is. We've supported some real dirt bags in the region in this effort - like Saddam Hessian, who we later went to war with when he fell out of line when he stopped fighting Iran and invaded Kuwait. Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi petroleum through slant drilling. All of this tinkering around has really pissed off the locals. The Arab spring in creating a more extremist Islamic ideology is due to the 50 years of western influence in the region. If you include British and French doctrines we're talking a 100 years.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/red-line
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_oil_and_gas_companies_by_revenue
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/red-line
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_oil_and_gas_companies_by_revenue
The 1928 Red Line Agreement - 1921–1936 - Milestones - Office of the Historian
The 1928 Group Agreement (better known as the “Red Line” Agreement) was a deal struck between several American, British, and French oil companies concerning the oil resources within territories that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire within the Middle East. The origins of the Red Line Agreement can be traced back to the initial formation of the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC) in 1912.
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Exit strategy should be this. Either we should get serious with permanent garrisons there, like Germany, permanently disband the militias, and seal off Iraq's border with Iran (absolutely not political points)- or we stop the air campaign, pack up now, cut off all aid (even .05 cents worth of aid is too much), and go home.
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SPC Angel Guma
And at some point, either the politicos here should get serious about war with Iran already. Enough blabbering. Enough bluster. The Ayatollahs loved Bush for finishing the job with Saddam, and Obama is not taken seriously at all. The next president should really consider either normalizing relations with Iran and aspire to make it 'just another country', or just fight them. Doin this in between act isn't working.
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SGT Jeremiah B.
The Obama administration has been attempting to normalize relations with Iran. The hard line approach has failed utterly despite 30 years of trying. It has become abundantly obvious though that the Israel lobby and their paid-for congressmen are not going to permit anything short of war.
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The overall best exit strategy would have been to not go back in there at all. We tried. They don't want the help.
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I met a British pensioner in London while on leave there in 2004. He said that he did not believe that the American government had the stomach to stay in Iraq or Afghanistan long enough to see generational change. He was over 90 and had served in Iraq, Pakistan and India. His point was a valid one then and still today. Fragile nations often can't stand alone. A coalition government with a combined military from Middle Wastern States seems like thelikely solution.
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I would like to know what our victory strategy is as well. The problem I have with our current actions is that it seems like we're there just to show we're doing "something." No amount of bombing will defeat ISIS. To effect any meaningful change will require land forces. Unfortunately we don't appear to have the political will to make that commitment, so we're stuck in a state of half-measures. If we're not going to go all the way to victory, why start at all?
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CPO Greg Frazho
A good point, Lt. I don't know that I'd entrust anything like statesmanship, diplomacy let alone projection of power to this administration. It's amateur hour at State and I think the only one there who has his or her head screwed on right is the guy they just appointed to be the spokesman (Rear Admiral John Kirby, USN, Ret.)
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Kill the bad guys until there are no more bad guys. THEN we can talk nation building.
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