Why 20,000 More Troops Will Be As Effective in Stabilizing Iraq As Chewing Bubble Gum

Last week, King George II addressed the nation to announce that he would be increasing the troop numbers in Iraq to help stabilize the region and continue the mission of bringing “freedom to Iraq.” The immediate reaction of the Democratic Party and an overwhelming majority of Americans is that it is too little too late. The window of opportunity to increase troops and effectively stabilize the region has long since closed, and the reality of the situation is that we need to get the hell out of there.

After a fierce blow to the Republican Party in the previous mid-term elections, Washington has finally come to the conclusion that many Americans, myself included, realized some time in March, 2003: that victory in Iraq eluded us way before Boy George and to be frank, from the beginning of this war, the power to bring freedom and democracy to the region was never within our grasp. As much as we’d like to envision our nation as being the “Johnny Apple Seed” of Democracy, planting American-like governments across the globe, the truth is Democracy does not flourish where it is not hospitable. It is not a weed that can grow anywhere, and once it manifests itself in a field, spreads easily. Quite the contrary, it’s much more like a vineyard that needs close care and attention and the deserts of Iraq were not the right place for it. Our own democracy did not sprout over night, and it certainly did not come from another nation liberating us from the British. Democratic governments are born from internal strife and idealistic revolutions that are rooted within the people of a nation. It’s just plain common sense that a nation of people who go to church and Wal-Mart on Sundays can’t bring freedom and ensure tranquility in a country where sectarian polarization is so strong that they’d rather kill each other than even consider compromise.

Any progress and stabilization that will come to Iraq, will not come from sending 20,000 more kids my age. It is up to Iraq, and Iraq alone, to come up with a plan that will at least quell sectarian polarization. The violence that keeps escalating in Iraq is the product of political failure to compromise. Iraqi democracy can only come from Iraqi policy makers, and sending more troops at this point is sending the wrong message.