Anti Iraqi Liberation Manifesto- John Nikolis

John NikolisMay 10, 2007Final PaperAnti Iraqi Liberation Manifesto            Friends, Americans, taxpayers, lend me your ears. I am not here to pass judgment on how our country should be run, but rather to point out or improvise on an unattainable goal that our country is dreadfully attempting to achieve. I speak from experience and with loads of common sense. Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom need to be terminated immediately. The American military has lost thousands of soldiers whose count surpasses that of the 9/11 terrorist attack. If liberating a foreign country means more than destroying tens of thousands of families here at home, let me put an end to this proposal. If sending our troops to Iraq to spread or better yet force democracy on a country means more than focusing on our internal dilemmas, again let me terminate this manifesto. Americans, open up your eyes and see where this country is heading. See what this country is doing and witness America contradicting what it means to be American. We are making enemies. We are setting ourselves up for failure. In order for this country to save the world, they need to overhaul the internal crises which are taking place right before its eyes first. This nation needs to place its citizens as top priority, rather than deploying them to lands where their chances of making it home are as slim as that country becoming democratic.             Let’s take a minute and talk about Democracy. What does it mean for a country to be democratic, and can it be compelled upon a nation from a more dominant nation?  This is almost as ludicrous of an idea as believing in the unrealistic hope of miracles occurring. Democracy can’t be obliged, especially if it’s from an outside party. Would you like it if a taller, stronger, more powerful man came into your house and told you how to run it? Well, democracy entails individual freedom, liberty, rights for all, separation of the power of government, independent judiciary, freedom of the press, acceptance for differences in outlook, a free market, and most importantly disjointing of religion and the state.  The Baath Arab Socialist Party, which was founded in 1947, functioned as a pan-Arab party with subdivisions in a variety of Arab countries. However, it was strongest in Syria and Iraq. It became commanding in Iraq in 1966. It regulated Iraq with a nine member Revolutionary Command Council. This assembly ratified legislation by diktat. The president of the RCC was brought into office by a two-thirds preponderance of the RCC. An assembly of Ministers, who were really the cabinet, had managerial and some legislative duties.  At the time, the Vice- President of Iraq was Taha Yassin Ramadan. There was a 250 member National Assembly which consisted of 220 of whom were brought into authority through popular vote. They were to serve a four-year term. The remaining thirty were appointed by the president to stand for the three Northern Provinces. Iraq is divided into eighteen provinces; each is guided by a governor with wide-ranging directorial powers. The French had influenced the foundation of Iraq’s judicial system during Saddam’s rule. This system was introduced during Ottoman rule and contained three types of lower courts. The courts consisted of civil, religious, and special. The appellate court system along with the court of cassation, which was the court of last remedy, totals the judicial structure. The legal system in Iraq was illogical and atrocious while the Ba’athists ruled. Iraqis were subject to bereavement by hand grenades detonated in shirt pockets. Suspects were capable of having their limbs broken along with their fingers. Sometimes their tongues and ears would get cut off.  President Bush announced “All Iraqis must have a voice in the new government, and all citizens must have their rights protected.” People, compelling that democracy be imposed on a country is a failure in itself. Furthermore, it will create anti- Americanism in the process. Iraq is not ready for democracy. The Iraqi society is too disjointed for democracy to exist. Ok, let’s take a second to make believe Iraq held elections and even became democratic; wouldn’t an illiberal result be yielded such as totalitarianism by the Shi’a majority? The changeover to democracy in Iraq would be too death-defying and the resulting government would be too feeble and pathetic. Therefore, the institutionalization of democracy, mainly a federal form of it, would be unsuccessful. Besides, the United States is too unpredictable, and the Iraqis are too antagonistic to give democracy the time it would need to cultivate and prosper.             Returning to the topic of the manifesto, we need to bring our troops home. Besides the fact that this war and modernization of Iraq has cost us billions and billions of dollars, more and more of our kids are fading away on a daily basis. Not only is this war lost, our country is still partaking in it with very high expectations of an impractical goal. Government building, museums, banks, and military depositories were embezzled by Iraqi citizens. Vast weapons of mass destruction have not been found. Wait a second, didn’t that issue initiate the war? I don’t know about you people, but I feel like I’ve been lied to. Having spent 99 days of my life in Iraq, away from family and friends, with the threat of being blown away, because I was told there were weapons, doesn’t justify anything to me. Anyhow, Baghdad and other main cities are suffering regular physical attack from mortars, snipers, rocket-propelled grenades, suicide bombers, and roadside bombs. We are attempting to train an Iraqi and national police force to take care of their country. The problem is that only a few Iraqis are concerned about their country, all they seem to care about is their religious leader. All that this country is doing is providing weapons and training to men that going to turn right around and use those weapons and training on their enemies. The Sunis hate the Shia, the Shia hates the Suni, and both of them hate us. If the Shia can’t find any Suni to shoot at, they’ll start shooting at Americans. Now please take a second and follow your intuition and common sense. Want me to continue? Ok, by staying in Iraq all we’re doing is holding the cork in the bottle. Whether we pull out now, or three years from now, Iraq will become just like Somalia. It will be a country torn by war between tribes, gangs, and various religious groups. They will lack a central government, a no-man’s land of death and poverty, all financed by whatever radical group has control of the nation’s oil that month. What I am trying so hard to make you guys understand is that there is no saving Iraq. What we can save are our troop’s lives and our nation’s money. The troops can come home and be with their families. Then instead of sending our troops all over the world in endless wars, we can keep them in the country and use them to help secure our borders. With the troops back home we will be able to focus on problems that we have in our own country.            Bringing our troops home would put pressure on the Iraqi government to step up to the plate politically and take charge of their country. By having our troops there, there is no fear or need to rush and get it done as long as the Americans and their allies are protecting them. It is time they tackle the insurgence and the militias. Only Iraq can save Iraq. It should be an organized gradual pullout of our troops and focus more time, money, and concern on our own country.  Ok fine, the United State may be criticized if they were to pull out, but who cares? We will be viewed as weak, as a country which is only strong as a supplier of military weapons, not as a politically strong nation. One could even argue this will show United States style democracy as being weak. However, there is a big difference between invading a country and running it. If anything, what we should of done was reconvened the Iraqi Parliament to maintain law and order. Then, over the next year or so weeded out the people they didn’t actually want involved in running the country or who had committed serious misdeeds, changed the constitution, and made the necessary law changes. Instead, we allowed the Iraqi Government to collapse, then we watched the collapse of the police, military, and civil administration. Behind those failures came the collapse of law and order. We have made matters worse then what they were and are still there adding to the problem we created.             I have said what I had to say. Our country’s fate lies in whether it wants to make the right decision or not. Pulling out and focusing on domestic issues would be the precise thing to do. We have sacrificed enough in Iraq and there is no need to continue on with the mistakes. Proving aid to the troops who have experienced life altering situations and money towards the protection of our country’s borders makes better sense to me then sending troops to Iraq and adding to our national debt. Americans, open up your eyes and let your judgment gear you towards prosperity and triumph.

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