Why I Listen to other Vets on Iraq and a Letter to Andrew Sullivan

The Iraq war has been one of immense complexity. So much so, that it would be pretty difficult for one guy to foment an opinion without listening to the opinions of others. That's why I listen to other vets on VetsForFreedom and VetVoice. VetsForFreedom tends to highlight what is currently going well with our strategy (improved security, local reconciliation), while VetVoice is good at highlighting what's not going so well (uneasy Sadr ceasefire, corrupt and incompetent central government). Both are key to take into account to envision future policy in Iraq and elect and support the right people for '08.

What I haven't been impressed with is the "Anti-War" Ivy-League intelligentsia who are still yakkin about no WMD found, Cheney's big Oil conspiracy, and Neocon plans for world domination. Booorrrrrriiiinnnngg. We need to look more critically at current events and figure out a proper exit strategy that will leave Iraq a stable place and not split-up between an Al-Qaeda Caliphate and Iran part II, while balancing the resources of our military. As the surge winds down, I challenge left-leaning bloggers and pundits to come up with a valid exit strategy. The USA is not a military junta, and our policy in the military is to follow the orders of the civilians democratically elected over us. I wrote a letter to Mr. Andrew Sullivan to see if he's got any insight.

My Letter to Andrew Sullivan:

Mr. Sullivan,

I respect your opposition to the war in Iraq and you seem like a really smart guy. But, I was a little disappointed when I saw this post in that you're still bringing up the tired old "anti-war" rhetoric of "Where's the WMDs?", "Saddam didn't fly the planes on 9/11", and "No blood for oil.". Okay, we get it. But those issues are outdated and have little to do with our current situation in Iraq. I've been following HuffPost, Glen Greenwald at Salon.com, Juan Cole, and yourself since I got to Iraq 6 months ago, and I've yet to hear a good plan of how to exit Iraq and leave it in some condition of stability. All this "I told you so" doesn't change the fact that we are where we are. But where do we go from here? You're a smart and influential guy, please enlighten me. I'm very curious about what our policy should be in Iraq for 2008 and I thought you might have some answers. Thank you for your time, sir.

LT Nixon
Baghdad

(note: I'm NOT speaking for the United States Military and this is for my own personal education and blogging usage. I am in no way "intimidating" you, and please don't turn me into a COL Boylan like Salon.com did a few months back. I took an oath to uphold freedom of speech and will defend it to the death. All you're gonna find if you follow the IP trail is some disheveled Navy LT hanging out in a trailer. Again, thanks For Your time! )

If he says it's because "He supports the Troops" and we need an immediate withdrawal, that's swell, but I think it's not going to make a good exit strategy. Hopefully he doesn't think I'm a dumbass because I'm in the service.