The Coalition Armies Can’t Stop Now
The idea being floated in some quarters — and undoubtedly the goal of the Ba’athist totalitarian regime in Baghdad — is a negotiated settlement to the war. I think that this war was most likely a mistake, but we have been put on a road that can have only one acceptable outcome: Saddam Hussein must be killed and his regime dismantled completely. If he and his regime were to be allowed to stay in place, the mass murder within Iraq and the revenge exacted against the supporters of the war would be horrifying in extent. Making a commitment to a war and then rallying the country to the flag after the die is cast is an old tactic, usually used by those who seek to increase the power of the state. But it’s also true that once it’s been started, sometimes it simply has to be finished. And this is one of those cases.
The new question is: what is our exit strategy? It is imperative that the U.S. disengage from the Middle East, and a victory over Saddam Hussein would mean that the threat to Saudi Arabia would be eliminated, and with it, the ostensible reason for a U.S. troop presence in Saudi Arabia. The point should be made that a state will not be allowed to threaten the U.S. with weapons of mass destruction, and that it will not be allowed to harbor terrorist training camps. Then we should get the hell out.