Everyone in the world has to be tired of hearing of the ups and downs of health care by now. This push has been going on the entire length of the Obama presidency and finally after a couple of tricks and lots of deals, Congress has passed the bill. That is all I’m going to say about it. Every other political OP-ED writer in the country is weighing in on it and at this point I think that every possible opinion is out there. So for me it was either pick another topic, or be accused of plagiarism…as tempting as it was, I’m going to roll with the different topic idea.
Somewhere amidst headlines of health care debates, promises and arm twisting, we seem to have forgotten about our Middle East conflicts, specifically Iraq. By the time I wrote this, over 4300 men and women had lost their lives fighting the war, but isn’t it about time to call it quits there? Sure we have an exit strategy, but what are we waiting for?
It wasn’t more than just a few weeks ago that the country held its 2010 parliamentary elections. This is just one more example of how we have restored their democracy. Wasn’t that the main goal of our campaign? To convert them to a democratic government? I think we have more than completed that mission.
The United States has built up the infrastructure there, training their troops and police, restoring schools and aiding in all aspects of the establishment of their government. It’s time to leave. What else could we do at this point that didn’t include reopening the Baghdad Zoo? I guess we could at least replace that tiger that the troops shot.
We even fulfilled the liberal protestors’ predictions with Shell and Exxon signing huge deals to produce hundreds of millions of barrels of oil. All that is left now is for someone from the administration to go into the George W. Bush archives and pull that ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner out, dust it off and add the following movie trailor-esque statement to it: “This Time It’s for Real!”
Let’s face it, the Obama administration and Democrats in general are going to be in trouble this election cycle. People are upset about healthcare, and more so the growing numbers of people who are losing their healthcare daily are doing so because they are losing the jobs that the service is provided with. We have been wasting our time and effort on things that can wait. And I have honestly yet to see any difference made from the first stimulus package other than maybe the profit margin at whichever sign factory has been contracted to make those American Relief and Recovery Act road signs that the administration has randomly placed around the nation. Obama needs to pull the easy win and bring the troops home from Iraq.
Please notice that I am saying Iraq and not Afghanistan or the Middle East in general. We quite possibly went after the wrong country to begin with. I think that there were definitely issues with the government and they certainly aided terrorists, but we knew about Afghanistan first and seemingly lost focus. I digress. The administration should use the recent successes in Iraq as another opportunity to claim victory for itself and this nation. Bringing the troops out of at least one conflict earlier than planned would be a major boost to the current administration.
Tim Young
Tim Young was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He
has served his time in government working for multiple Senators on the
Hill as well as former Governor Ehrlich of MD., the Social Security
Administration, and NIH. A spokesperson, manager and strategist for
multiple campaigns, Young has amassed quite a resume of political
experience, ranging from national to grass roots. He holds a law
degree from the University of Baltimore and has completed the
coursework needed for his doctorate in Public Policy. An award
winning stand-up comic, Young leads the creative teams for multiple
non-partisan lobbying efforts as well as nationwide PSA's. 
Good points Tim and all made without any rabid name calling or finger pointing. Refreshing to read an opinion with clarity. I agree it is time to get out. The amount of money spent in the war effort is staggering and could be better spent on fixing the problems at home. For generations since World War II every administration (Democrat and Republican alike) have been involved in one “conflict/war” or another which has done little, if anything, to advance the good of this country. Even the Democratic leadership has been afraid to buck the military establishment making a token cut to fulfill a campaign promise but then increasing spending in another area. This is a great nation but the shame of it all is that we still have people going to bed hungry, people without decent housing and people without access to minimal healthcare. This should be our number one priority.
Good column. All true except the part where we rebuilt their infrastructure. Unfortunately, hundreds of millions if not billions were lost and stolen under that cover, at LEAST as much the fault of Americans as Iraqis. Such theft, including pallets of cash sneaked out of NY and flown to Baghdad, should be investigated thoroughly and those guilty punished to the full extent of the law, civilian or military.
Talk about fiscal responsibility–how about applying it here. Plus, this theft may well constitute a war crime.
This touches on the problem in this country of the Military Industrial Complex’ hold on our politicians. It is in the interests of some businesses to ensure that we are in a perpetual state of war, for without that the demand for their product plummets.
I agree. It’s time to come home. Well written article, Tim.