It seems that — for good or for ill — many thousands of American, British, and Australian troops are going to be in Iraq fairly soon. It’s time for opponents of an expansive American empire to begin to formulate exit strategies that will be attractive to policy makers. Just as we need to propose plausible reasons for pulling U.S. troops out of Saudia Arabia that don’t include “Because we’re capitulating to terrorist demands,” we need to come up with strategies for military disengagement from the Middle East generally. One can stand on the sidelines and shake one’s fists at policy makers, or one can propose alternative strategies to the policy makers that those policy makers may find attractive. No doubt those who take the former approach will denounce those who take the latter for being sellouts, but here’s the question: Which are the real friends of peace?
