The War in Iraq

By Paul L. Hackett

Paul's plan for Iraq, based on first hand experience as an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran.

The White House has been painting a rosy picture and people aren't buying it anymore. We all know the outcome is uncertain and there is no exit date. But even now, too many conservatives just want to applaud whatever the administration does. And too many liberals who opposed the war want to see the president's Iraq policy fail.

I was against the war. It was a misuse of our military that damaged our credibility throughout the world and squandered our political capital. Still, I volunteered to serve, and I have no regrets. But now we need to face the reality of the situation there. Our country has gone to war and every American must share in that responsibility.

The good news is we can successfully exit Iraq once the roughly 140,000 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) are adequately trained and skilled enough to defend their fledgling government.

The bad news is they are nowhere near the level of skill to accomplish that mission and are likely years away from that goal.

I know this from fighting alongside Iraqis, and training them. They are simply not ready to defend their country against the insurgents that threaten to destroy Iraq's future.

No matter what your position on the war, if we pull out now the entire region will spiral into chaos and present our nation and military with a far more difficult challenge than we currently face. I don't relish the prospect of my two sons going over there in twenty years. We need to get it right, and we need to do it now.

The Iraqi people and government are grateful that we eliminated their brutal dictator. They are capable of running their own government and building a democracy. It won't look like ours; nor should it. But in order for them to succeed, we must not withdraw our troops before the Iraqis are ready to stand on their own.