“Weak-kneed members of both parties have been calling for a timetable to be announced for withdrawal from Iraq. No other war in thousands of years of history has ever had such a timetable announced to their enemies. Even if we intended to get out by a given date, there is not the slightest reason to tell the terrorists that. It is frivolous politics at its worst”. –Thomas Sowell
This is a talking point I hear over and over, but I have yet to hear challenged - so I’ll challenge it.
We all agree (Republicans and Democrats) that the U.S. should eventually leave Iraq. So, leaving is only a matter of time. The question is: How long do we stay?
Now, if we announced a timetable, wouldn’t it logically follow that the insurgents would see less need to continue the violence? - Given that we have committed to leave anyway. If we committed to leave by Jan/2008, for example, what motivation would the insurgents have to fight our troops through 2007? They know we’re leaving anyway. So what’s the point?
That seems like a pretty good reason to me.
“what motivation would the insurgents have to fight our troops through 2007?”
First, this will illustrate to our enemies that we are weak and it would further their agenda to attack us at home. Case in point Somalia, where Osama himself has stated that it was that operation that convinced him that we are a paper tiger.
Another reason I won’t announce dates is because they will use that tactically against the new Iraqi government. They merely can save their resources for further training & equipment purchases and wait it out till the US leaves. Which at that point, they would mass an all out attack which could bring down that government and usher in a Taliban type state. Since we have just left, we would not have the political will to reenter that country.
Third, this would be a big moral booster and would make the attacks much worst. The enemy would want to speed our departure. Especially the Iranians.
Israel,
The issue, as Mr. Sowell posed it, is whether or not there is any advantage to specifying a timetable. You seem to mistakenly believe that Mr. Sowell has instead asked if there is any advantage to not specifying a timetable. There is. Of course. But I’ve never suggested otherwise.
The day it becomes unprofitable is the day we will leave Iraq (or whatever it is called then.)
msmondo,
I’m not such a cynic as you are. I think there are as many high-minded, principled people who are committed to staying in Iraq as there are who are not.
My only point in this discussion is this: I think reasonable people can see both advantages and disadvantages to establishing a timetable for withdrawal. The fact that Mr. Sowell can see only disadvantages says alot about Mr. Sowell.
That’s really my only point.
Sowell’s main point is not that there are no advantages whatsoever to setting a timetable, his point is that it has become primarily political to demand one - not political for everyone, but to many.
The article is titled, Frivolous Politics, and discusses many other examples aside from a timetable in Iraq.
If, as you say, Mr. Sowell can indeed see that there are advantages to setting a timetable, then he should probably write that, instead of writing that there is not the slightest reason for one.
Quite frankly, I’m of the growing opinion that Thomas Sowell has some interesting opinions on the subject of minorities and economics, but his foreign policy ideas appear to be “Sean Hannity Lite”. I’m unimpressed.
Well, that is not his specialty, his specialty is economics, so that may very well be true.
I do know that when he writes about gay marriage - a subject I agree with him on, btw - he does a poor job of defending his position.
— Thomas Sowell
I read this several days ago, and its been stuck in my head ever since. It appears that only American lives count for Mr. Sowell. And wounded soldiers don’t count either. I’ll remember that.
No, I’m sure they count too, but that is implicit in the calculations - the more death, the more wounded, etc.
Not just American lives either, if the war is just, many non-American lives will be saved as well (think of how the middle east would change if Democracy did spread).