by Damon Mathews

Created on: May 06, 2008   Last Updated: January 06, 2009

The United States pulling out shouldn't be contingent on that question, as the Iraqi government may never be ready to, "defend it's people", however, we are giving them their best opportunity by placing the effort in their hands. Will the Iraqi government be representative of all the people; or will it descend into a police state similar to Sadam Hussein's Iraq, but, more akin to totalitarian Iran?

Our democracy wasn't created overnight, nor were many of the other democracies of the world. A miracle is required for all sides in Iraq, be they, Sunni, Shiite, Kurd; Muslim, Christian, or Jew, to unite behind the government of Iraq. Also, will the Shiite lead government, respect and represent the rights of all groups, sharing power with them? If they don't, a struggle is likely to ensue, as the question will then be, will the Iraqi people support a government which not only can't defend it's people, but actively represses it's Sunni minority the same way Sadam repressed the majority Shiite and other populations of Iraq.

We also must be ready for the effort to succeed or fail, without getting discouraged if it fails. Just as the policy of Vietnamization ultimately failed to prevent communist domination of the south, so might our best efforts in Iraq fail. We mustn't allow Iraq to prevent us from recovering our strength, and getting onto a larger strategy with regard to terrorism.It's now up to the Iraqi people and government to defend themselves, just as it was up to the people of Vietnam to choose what form they took.

Similar to our policy in Vietnam, we are training, equipping, and readying the government of Iraq to stand on it's own. Also similar, we have a limited time to do this, and it's largely up to them if it works.

In withdrawing from Iraq, America is faced with many of the same challenges it faced in Vietnam. How do we responsibly draw down from Iraq, leaving the Iraqi people with the best possible chance of success in maintaining the stability of their country; how do we do this without destroying our ability to utilize a more far reaching strategy with regard to the problems at hand? Many people argued for no withdrawal from Vietnam until victory, or until the Vietnamese people were ready.

Yet, now, in hindsight, the War in Vietnam can be seen as a battle in the larger struggle with communism, and if we would have remained there much longer, the results of the "Cold War" might have been much different, as it would have prevented America from recovering it's

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