Iraq should call the shots

If most Iraqis think American troops should go home " and most of them do according to recent public opinion polls " and Iraqi leaders are calling for a timetable for the orderly withdrawal of our troops, why is the Bush administration hemming and hawing about pulling U.S. combat brigades out of Iraq? I think the answer to that question derives from "The Arrogance of Power," the title of a best-selling book written by the late Sen. J. William Fulbright (D-Ark.) during the Cold War.

As the world's remaining military superpower, the United States can pretty well do what it pleases in international hot spots like Iraq and Afghanistan. But even though President Bush enunciates (or tries to enunciate) high moral principles to justify our military actions, some of our presumed friends and allies aren't buying Bush's rhetoric. It looks to them as if we invaded Iraq because we could, thereby diverting the world's attention from Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda and the Taliban have teamed up to spread violence against foreign "infidels." And by the way, Afghanistan is now more dangerous than Iraq and more Americans are being killed there than in Iraq. Let's get our priorities straight.

In his book, Sen. Fulbright, who was chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, outlined the limits of American military power, pointing out the difference between brute force and "soft" power, which attempts to gain support and understanding for U.S. foreign policies by means of peaceful influence and persuasion. Another name for soft power is public diplomacy, the business I was in overseas for nearly 30 years. In my opinion, the Bush administration has slighted the civilian, nation-building aspects of postwar Iraq in a misguided search for military solutions to that nation's severe internal political problems, such as ongoing tensions between warring Sunnis and Shias.

It should be noted that that Gen. David Petraeus, the highly respected U.S. military commander in Iraq, has repeatedly acknowledged that the Iraq War cannot be won militarily. So even though his "surge" strategy is succeeding in the military arena, Iraq's feuding politicians have been unable to accomplish the political reconciliation so urgently needed in that war-torn nation. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell was right to apply the so-called Pottery Barn theory to Iraq: "You break it, you own it," he said. We own it. Now what?

Both presidential candidates, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, are trying to answer that difficult question. Obama advocates a gradual withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months after he takes office next January, if he wins in November. McCain is tied to President Bush's obstinate "stay the course" strategy, which is an unmitigated disaster that has cost us more than 4,000 American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars that could have been better spent on quality public education and an urgent search for alternative energy sources.

THE IRAQIS WANT US OUT

Even though the Bush administration claims that Iraq's elected government is making "satisfactory progress" (whatever that means) on 15 of 18 political benchmarks, there's a long way to go on the civilian side of the Iraqi equation. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government is pushing for a timetable for American military withdrawal. Earlier this month a high-level Iraqi spokesman told the Associated Press that his country won't accept any status of forces (SOF) agreement "that doesn't have specific dates to withdraw foreign (military) forces from Iraq." Translation: They want us out. An SOF agreement is required to keep American troops in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires on Dec. 31. Although I don't favor a public timetable for withdrawal, I think both Obama and McCain should have classified withdrawal plans in their respective back pockets.

Meanwhile, Genl. James Dubik, who is in charge of training Iraqi armed forces to defend their own country, told the AP that Iraq's ground forces should become proficient by mid-2009, suggesting that U.S. combat units could begin withdrawing by next April. Overall, Iraqi security forces control barely half of the nation's 18 provinces after more than five years of bloody warfare and intense training of Iraqi forces. "There has been huge progress," Dubik added, "but full success is not yet at hand." Far from it.

I endorse a recent Reno Gazette-Journal editorial urging the U.S. to abide by Iraqi decisions regarding American troop withdrawals. After all, it's their country. Let's call it the arrogance of power, something we can do without in the midst of a huge economic downturn in our own country.

---

SURGERY STORY - After putting it off for far too long, I went to Carson's shiny new Sierra Surgery Hospital earlier this month for a routine hernia repair. For me, however, my first surgery in more than 50 years was anything but "routine." Nevertheless, I was well treated by compassionate and talented medical professionals every step of the way " in at 10, out at 3. I was amazed and relieved and wish to thank lead surgeon Dr. William Thomas, anesthesiologist Dr. John Anxo and the rest of the surgical team for their first-class treatment of a nervous patient. Well done!

Guy W. Farmer, a semi-retired journalist and former U.S. diplomat, resides in Carson City.