The Ol' In and Out

When President Bush publicizes his plan for moving ahead in Iraq this week, it will not include a plan for full near- or long-term troop withdrawal. There is a historical precedent for this. The US still maintains a military presence in Germany, Japan, and South Korea 50 years or more after their respective conflicts ended.

I don't believe there ever was an intent for withdrawal. With the dubious reasons given for the initial invasion and occupation, it is obvious that there was a hidden motive. As I have written before, none of the reasons cited by the President stand up to scrutiny. He wanted an excuse to establish a military presence in the Middle East.

The Korean conflict is the closest example to Iraq. It was an imperialistic war and it was fought internal to that nation. In that example, it took 40 years for political stability to take root and democracy to take hold. And technically the Korean conflict is still taking place. There is no peace treaty between the North and South, only a suspension of hostilities.

Iran could be seen as the North Korea to Iraq. At least in the US's imperialistic view, a military presence will more than likely be maintained in Iraq to balance Iran's power in the region. Iraq is a back door to influencing power in the region for the United States.