Article: Draft Muslim Nations To Deal With US Exit from Iraq

WE know that throughout the world, the US is reviled by Muslim in Muslim nations. It is not uncommon for polls to report that over 90% of the people of a Muslim nation hate the US.

Yet some Muslim nations benefited from the invasion of Iraq and other Muslim nations are already dealing with the sequellae of the US invasion of Iraq and will suffer even more when the US departs.

Before the US does exit Iraq, it makes sense to bring these countries into the conversation and planning. That� �� s something the Bush administration has been embarassingly bad at doing. Since Bush keep seeking � ��"victory� �� this option has not even been on the table, but it� �� s time to put it on the table. .

Saudi Arabia saw the invasion of Iraq as a way to get US troops out of their country.

Kuwait must be seeing billions in business from the US presence there.

Turkey must have mixed feelings. The Iraq war gave the Kurds, a fractious group seeking independence in Turkey, a place of their own in Iraq-- but also a place where operations aimed at taking the Kurdish part of Turkey.

Iran was at war with Saddam. The US eliminated Iran's biggest enemy and allowed Iran to focus all its archaic, no, make that Neanderthal psychotic religious extremism on Israel, while focusing on taking Iran by Shiite alliances.

Lebanon's Hezbollah has massively benefited from Iran's largesse, and Iran� �� s largesse was made possible because the Iraq war took the burden off of their war efforts with Iraq, so they could invest in war elsewhere.

Egypt and many other Muslim nations have been experiencing increased levels of Islamic Jihadist fundamentalist activity, including terrorist violence, efforts at theocratic takeovers and intimidation of secular civilians-- not unlike Taliban dictates.

I'm no Middle East expert, but that's a starting list of nations with a vested interest in getting on board when it comes to planning what to do when the US exits Iraq, because it is timeï � �"past the time when the US should get the hell out of Iraq.

Bush was an idiot, liar and moron for getting us in there. He did it with the historically incompetent help and hubris of Rumsfeld and the lies and machinations of Cheney. But, like parents cleaning up after a sick child with diarrhea, we have to clean up the mess Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the Neocons and Reublican enablers, like John McCain and Joe Lieberman perpetrated.

Actually, maybe diarrhea isn� �� t the right analogy. Maybe mental illness is more apropos. When a member of your family becomes profoundly mentally illï � �"violent, delusional, psychoticï � �" it is necessary to take extreme means to protect the family. Sometimes you have to call in the help of the police, who will then use handcuffs and involuntary means of getting things under control. It� �� s not pretty. It is painful to make the choice to do it and sometimes, the patient gets hurt. But it� �� s necessary to prevent things from getting worse.

When a village discovers that it has been hurt by an idiot and a criminal, it must do all it can to make things right-- for the people who have been hurt and for itself.

The US is responsible for the tragedy of Iraq, but it cannot continue to stay there, as Bush and his incompetent, apologist generals insist.

Someone has to say-- we're sorry-- our nutcase president screwed up, and you've been hurt. But we are not helping staying as things are.

Someone has to say to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Kuwait and other Muslim states-- "we're pulling out and you need to get involved in fixing this mess. It's not your fault that things are like they are today, but you played a role. You either fought Saddam or you had issues in the area or you are, at this point, already a victim or soon to become one. .

We stirred things up and now they're worse, overall, but you will be affected by whatever develops there.

SO you need to get involved-- not after we leave. You need to get involved NOW.

The Muslim nations that have any potential of being affected by escalation of the chaos that is currently volcanically brewing and which could erupt much worse WHEN (not if) the US withdraws, must meet, with AND without the US. They must start dealing with Iraq, exploring interventions and solutions.

The US should convene a meeting with these countries and perhaps the UN, and lay the cards on the table. We're leaving. What are YOU going to do about? Better to start now and have a plan or plans.

Maybe outspoken US critics like Hugo Chavez should also get on board. Maybe China and Russia should too. There are huge oil reserves in Iraq that have yet to be accessed by Bush's people. The US has totally failed to tap them, but perhaps Russia or China or Iran or Saudi Arabia could, on behalf of the Iraqi people.

Or maybe the Muslim nations will allow Iraq to become another Palestine-- the people exploited by westerners, left, once they have been catapulted into chaos, to suffer in the desert. It's certainly happened before.

One thing is certain. WHEN the US leaves Iraq, there is a whole neighborhood there that could be helping.

When the US leaves, it is doubtful that attitudes towards the US could get much worse. They are so bad already.

Before the US leaves, we need to fire Condi Rice, who has been a visionless, shortsighted incompetent. We need to take over the Iraq Exit planning from the Generals and put into the hands of a new generation of Diplomats who will generate totally new ways of dealing with the problem-- ways that DRAFT the nations of the Muslim world community into the solution mix.

I say draft because they will probably not volunteer. Yet they know that they will be forced, when we leave to do something. So, the wise thing to do is to get them together and lay the reality out on the table.

"You're not going to like this. You� �� re going to hate it. But nonetheless, it's what you will be dealing with. So, get started now. Work together as a team of nations and it will be easier, or less painful, more planned, and perhaps the people of Iraq and the rest of the world will suffer less, for a shorter time.

The US can still use its intelligence resources to help the other nations. It can still help finance, to some extent, some of the interventions. But we have to face the fact that we are expending our peoples' lives at too high a price, getting too little in return, failing to even do any good there, in Iraq. It is time to play hardball with the Muslim world that so roundly criticizes the US.

We're leaving. You can pick up the pieces after we're gone, or start working with us now to minimize the chaos explosion that is likely to occur once we're gone. You might even find some opportunities.

This is not an easy path. It is not one with a clear solution. It is not one that can be spun as a "Victory" as the Bush team mindlessly recites as its mantra. It is an exit strategy that taps as many resources as possible, that by drafting, brings in the players, the victims, the beneficiaries of this cauldron/quagmire so they will start dealing with it before it explodes in their direction.

America must shoulder the blame, the shame, the responsibility for the tragedy of Iraq. But the blame will be compounded if it does not take these steps to engage even the unwilling partners it must include to move forward and take the inevitable exit steps that will be taken very soon.