Collegiate Times

This week, the Senate will continue debating a resolution condemning the commitment we made to the Iraqi people in 2003. But the resolution is non-binding, so we won't have to commit to de-committing from the war.

Restraining commitment is nothing new to politics. Another recent example is in 2001, the president proposed his No Child Left Behind Act as a major, bi-partisan accomplishment on education reform. Yet in 2006, only $13.3 billion was used of the $22.6 billion that was authorized. I wonder where that money is going. We can't commit to reforming education because we're looking in the White House sofas for quarters and dimes to fund this war that we're not committed to de-committing from.

How can we expect any of our foreign policies to succeed if we aren't going to commit ourselves for the long haul? According to a USA Today survey in 2003, 76 percent of Americans felt the war in Iraq and the overthrowing of the Hussein regime was "worth it."

Now that things aren't going well, we want to cut our losses and throw in the towel. What about the 3,000 soldiers who have lost their lives upholding the commitment we made? What about the 100,000-plus Iraqis who have died because we promised them a better life? Yes, we removed a tyrant (and turned him into a martyr), but even under Saddam, hundreds of Iraqis weren't dying every week. Saddam, as sick and twisted as he was, scared everyone into cooperation. You didn't hear Iran talking about nuclear weapons when Saddam was in power. You didn't see Sunni and Shi'ite militias battling it out on the streets, why? Because they were ALL terrified of Saddam. They lived in fear of a corrupt regime, but they lived. Now they are dying, and they are dying because of what we did. We owe it to these people to follow through.

Or, if you want to look at it from a more American-centric point of view, think of it this way: If we leave Iraq before the government and the military have control over the insurgency, we will be back before the papers stop talking about the withdrawal. If the Iran-backed Shi'ite sect takes over, Saudi Arabia has already said they will intervene to protect their Sunni constituency. You think the body count is bad now? You think we are overly committed now? You think gas is expensive now? If the Middle East explodes into full-scale war, this country will have to ration gasoline, meaning hundreds of dollars for a barrel of oil. If that happens, our economy will go into recession, and then the rest of us Americans who don't have a loved one serving would be something that most of us have never been: personally affected.

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