by Jeremy Hammond

Created on: September 12, 2008

There are many Americans who argue that U.S. forces must remain in Iraq. Even many who opposed the invasion on moral grounds have come to this conclusion, acting on similar moral principles. However, an examination of the arguments used in favor of continuing the occupation and the assumptions behind the views of many people who have in good faith come to espouse this belief reveals that it is a position grounded in a complete lack of understanding of the facts of the war and the situation on the ground.

One of the principle arguments used by proponents of continued occupation is that if U.S. forces leave, Iraq will become a "breeding ground" for terrorists. Just as Afghanistan had been a haven for terrorist training camps, so would Iraq become were the U.S. to withdraw.

This argument, though no doubt believed in good faith by many, is nonsense. It is the same kind of propaganda, based on lies and deceptions, that U.S. government officials and a complicit corporate media passed off to the American people that led to the war in the first place - indeed, which convinced 70% of the population, according to polls, that Saddam Hussein was involved in the terrorist attacks of September 11.

The fact is that the kind of terrorism that exists now in Iraq, the car bombings and suicide bombings that have ripped the country apart, were virtually unknown prior to the U.S. invasion. The terrorism that has come to Iraq is a direct consequence of the invasion and ongoing occupation.

And the notion that terrorist groups would overrun the country if the U.S. were to leave is belied by the fact that Sunni militias that had long been fighting the armed resistance to the U.S. presence began turning on other Sunni groups, such as al Qaeda in Iraq, which were responsible for committing acts of terrorism that served only to divide Iraqis against themselves.

In fact, much to his credit, Gen. David Petraeus was largely responsible for recognizing this growing trend amongst the Sunnis and encouraging the Iraqi people to crack down on the terrorist elements. The U.S. military actually began supporting its "enemy", Sunni groups that became known as the "Awakening Councils", in their struggle to root out al Qaeda in Iraq and other terrorist groups.

Furthermore, the argument ignores the very roots of anti-American sentiment in the Middle East and the stated reasons for intended terrorist violence against the U.S. and its interests. We must bring the fight to the terrorists, we are told, and that

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