In the whole debate over Iraq, this number struck me as important: 77% of Americans think that it is likely they’ll be all out civil war in Iraq if US forces leave.
The strongest argument against leaving Iraq is that civil war would follow and it is reassuring to see that the US public accept the danger of it; there is nothing so irresponsible as the argument that the coalition can leave without there being any adverse consequences.
Yet, I fear that we’re moving towards a, who cares let’s leave anyway moment—37% of Americans support immediate withdrawal, so already a significant number of people are happy to leave even if it means civil war. Indeed, a sign of this growing willingness to throw the Iraqis to the wolves came in the last Democratic debate when Hillary Clinton declared American troops “gave the Iraqi people a chance for elections and to have a government. It is the Iraqis who have failed to take advantage of that opportunity.” Not that this argument is confined to Democrats. The hawkish columnist Charles Krauthammer thundered recently, “We midwifed their freedom. They chose civil war.”
Yet, this ignores the fact that if you invade a country and depose its government while declaring your noble—and to my mind, moral—intentions, you then can’t just leave when you want to. That just sends a message that no one should ever trust in your resolve.
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