From Volume 3, Issue Number 15 of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published Apr. 13, 2004

This Week You Need To Know

Time To Get Out of Iraq!

On Nov. 28, 2003, Democratic Presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche issued a statement outlining the only possible approach to resolving the total mess which the insane invasion of Iraq has created in that country and the world as a whole. As the death toll in Iraq rises, and partisan warfare makes Americans increasingly vulnerable targets of the resistance, it is time for sane Americans to rally around this perspective.

True, there are few Americans, particularly from the Bush Administration, who would be trusted by the Iraqis, or other leading Islamic figures, even if they made the proposals which LaRouche puts forward. The only American statesman who could truly be trusted would be LaRouche himself, whose prominent role and importance in policy-shaping in the United States continues to be buried by the leading Establishment press, and the banker-controlled sections of the Democratic Party.

All the more reason that Americans—Democrat, Republican, or Independent—who wish to prevent the worsening Vietnam in the desert which is now unfolding, will rally behind LaRouche, and force a breakthrough for his policy role.

LaRouche's first proposal was as follows:

1. Declare the intention of the President of the United States to be, to cease the U.S. military occupation of Iraq at the earliest feasible occasion, and to notify the UN Security Council of the U.S. intention to reopen the matter of Iraq's earliest restoration to sovereignty in its affairs, and of the U.S. government's solicitation of UN Security Council assistance in bringing about this desired state of affairs.

There is still no alternative to this proposed move. It doesn't represent a specific plan for withdrawal, and in effect, does mean a kind of humiliation for the United States. But, as LaRouche said at the conclusion of his statement, "Sometimes the humiliation of one's own government, when done for the sake of freeing that government from self-destructive practices, is the most patriotic act of all."

A statement of intent, like that made by General de Gaulle when he decided to abandon France's colonial role in Algeria, is the statesmanlike move to make. And the mealy-mouthed statements from Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry, do nothing to improve the situation for American troops, or world peace.

What must be understood is that, if the U.S. does not move to pull out immediately, the Bush-Cheney crowd is on its way to escalating: by moving toward the use of overwhelming force, up to and including the use of nuclear weapons, against nations such as Syria, Iran, and North Korea. As LaRouche and EIW have documented, the policy of Cheney and the neo-conservative new imperialists, is "perpetual war," the only way to sustain their de facto dictatorship.

Furthermore, have any Americans learned the lessons of Vietnam? This is a national resistance in Iraq, and sending more and more troops only leads to more deaths.

Senator Robert Byrd (D-WVa), as is his wont, has come forward clearly on this issue. In a statement on Capitol Hill April 6, Sen. Byrd said: "Starkly put, at this juncture, more U.S. forces in Iraq equates [with] more U.S. targets in Iraq. The harsh reality is this: One year after the fall of Baghdad, the United States should not be casting about for a formula to bring additional U.S. troops to Iraq. We should instead be working toward an exit strategy." Byrd also said, "Surely I am not the only one who hears echoes of Vietnam in this development. Surely the Administration recognizes that increasing the U.S. troop presence in Iraq will only suck us deeper, deeper into the maelstrom, into the quicksand of violence that has become the hallmark of that unfortunate, miserable country."

Vice President Cheney and the claque of Straussian neo-cons who support him don't really care how many soldiers die, as long as their drive for empire continues. Just as they used phony intelligence to get the war they wanted, they will use the failures in Iraq to pursue their global agenda. Never underestimate their insanity.

Many military men have agreed with LaRouche from the beginning, arguing that the invasion was ill-planned, if not ill-advised altogether, because it would stir up the kind of nationalist reaction which has occurred. There is no way in which this hideous, aggressive war can turn out well. The U.S. must, in effect, admit it was wrong—just as Secretary of State Colin Powell has, belatedly, admitted he was lied to, a fact which LaRouche pointed out at the time.

The President was lied to, and the Congress was intimidated, but now it is time to listen to the voice of reason and leadership. The United States must declare its intent to really leave Iraq now, and work out arrangements with the United Nations to carry out the deed. Then, our nation must turn to collaboration with its allies on creating a true environment for peace, through dealing with the global economic financial disaster which threatens us all, and which can be overcome only with an international collaborative effort for reconstruction.

LaRouche's proposal must be put into effect now!

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