UN in Iraq

What to do, what to do...what do we do with Iraq? That certainly has to be a refrain that runs through the mind of the President-elect Obama- what to do with Iraq? Thus far, we- and I use the term "we" loosely to mean the entire world who supported and supports him- have heard about US combat troops pulling out within 16 months. I say pish-posh, let's do it in 6.

I know, I know it sounds insane and implausible but I believe 16 months is far too long. I believe it is time to trade in the red berets, the green berets, etc for the blue helmets of peacekeeping. It is time for the rest of the world to step up and clean up this bloody mess.

You might be tempted to rightly think, why should we? The answer is that the UN was formed for this very purpose. It does not ask who started or who was wrong, but how can we best bring about peace. Now granted, even Americas has tacitly admitted to betraying the world's trust, love, and admiration by wrongfully invading Iraq. They went too far, too fast without the kind of consensus needed for global participation against an alleged "rogue" state.

Back in 2002 Bush made what was actually a pretty good case in his UN speech on why something needed to be done about Iraq. Problem was that he followed all of that rhetoric up with lies and deception that were so cleverly played and propagandized that it inexorably led to an unjust invasion. Yet, I will maintain to this day, had he simply stayed true to his reasons that September day that the UN as a whole had to do something about Iraq.

I can understand his administrations reasons for choosing the path of lies and deceit that they did; quite frankly, they hated the UN and did not want it to be part of any solution...in other words, they figured out a means by which to try to kill two birds with one stone. It was a strategic misguided mean-spirited tragic blunder.

Anyways, the time for recriminations and finger-pointing has long past...kidding, we can absolutely still do that: somebody other than Iraqis need to pay a price (if only politically). The time though for a reconciliation of sorts and positive actions are at hand.

As mentioned, none of that matters. The UN's peacekeeping arm is not about warring but conflict-resolution and peace-keeping. As a gift to the new President-elect, I believe the best gift the world can give is unanimous consent to make Iraq more than an "American" problem...provided America can accept that the time for this war is at an end.

It may also mean that the Iraqis and the rest of the world would have to accept something incredibly outrageous on the face of it, that those who have waged war (America) can shift gears and become keepers of the peace. I believe the good-will generated by the election of Obama makes this belief possible. This does not mean that the world can idly sit back and watch only America attempt to keep the Iraqi peace, au contraire, the rest of "us" will have to commit treasure and troops to the effort. Again, that is all made possible by recent electoral events.

The thought makes eminent sense for America considering that as UN troops move, US troops can move out. They can divert some of those troops to places where they are needed, Afghanistan anyone? Or simply use the saved resources to help rebuild an economy that still has yet to hit bottom. Let's face it, the cycle of credit markets freezing up, leading to tightened spending, leading to frigid sales, leading to massive layoffs, leading to considerable amounts of misery is nowhere close to rock-bottom. We have a long hard road ahead of us, so the sooner funds can be freed up for more economically sound endeavors in America, the better for us all.

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