Arthur Silber: Give Up the Fatal Contradiction -- and Get Out Now

Since some readers may be joining me in mid-discussion, I should immediately clarify what I mean by "Get Out Now." I explained it more fully in this post. As everyone knows, but as many people dishonestly ignore in their effort to score cheap political points, no one who suggests immediate withdrawal from Iraq means that all U.S. troops should leave in days, weeks or even a month or two. But as I proposed (and as I have proposed for several years), we should set a deadline for withdrawal of all U.S. troops within, for example, six months. Anything more than that will inevitably begin to shade into a prolonged continuation of our futile, destructive occupation of a country that never threatened us, and which we had absolutely no right to invade. My earlier post also indicates the means by which we can attempt to make those reparations that are possible, although such reparations will never merit forgiveness for what we have done.