Reflections on the War in Iraq: The Solution May Lie in Syria

One day, when I was a young whippersnapper in high school, I wrote an ironically pedantic article for my school newspaper entitled "A Conservative's Argument for the War In Iraq." Perhaps it was my urge to defy my peers who were strongly against the war and George W. Bush which compelled me to write such an article. Or perhaps I, like Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and many other Americans, was deluded into believing that the war was a necessary step towards promoting world peace (by dismantling Saddam Hussein's non-existent WMD program and establishing democracy in no less than a month). Whatever the case may have been, there is one disclaimer I must clarify: I am not and was never a conservative! But I shan't continue discussing myself, for this concise article is about Iraq - a reflection of the 3.75 year war and its implications.

Whilst the Bush administration was contemplating going to war with Iraq, Al-Qaeda was secretly hoping for such a move to take place, for it would avert US attention from Afghanistan, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and, of course, capturing Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda was also conscience of how the US decision to invade Iraq would degenerate Arab and Islamic opinion of the US, making it easier to draw recruits. Although Al Qaeda was present in Iraq well before the war, the US occupation now allowed it to form a base as well as a coalition with Sunni insurgents in Iraq in fight US soldiers, Shiites, and Kurds. And thus, Al Qaeda was on the Republican side.

Iran, too, was on the Republican side in regards to invading Iraq and throwing out Iran's long time enemy, Saddam Hussein. Like Al Qaeda, Iran is a player in this war, subsidizing the Shiite insurgency whilst sending their militia to help the insurgency fight the Sunnis and US soldiers. Iran is very keen on having Shiite influence in Iraq, and Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yearns to become the most powerful man in the Middle East with nuclear power. It is worthy to mention that it was Iran, not Israel, that motivated Saddam Hussein to seek a nuclear program and the development of nuclear weapons. But ever since Israel attacked and destroyed Saddam's Osarik nuclear reactor in 1991, Saddam's nuclear program remained stagnant when the US invaded Baghdad in 2003. Hence, with Saddam Hussein overthrown and in prison, it inadvertently works in Ahmadinejad's favor.

The Iraq War, or the Second Gulf War, has spiraled into a civil war which could splay to other Arab regions with Shiite populations, such as Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. Syria claims it can halt the civil war in Iraq and help promote stability if the US decides to negotiate with Syria. Such a negotiation would have to forego any preconditions which the US currently holds as a prerequisite for initiating talks with Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. Likewise, there should be no precondition for the return of the Golan Heights and Shebaa Farms, territories occupied by Israel. Through negotiations, Syria is expected to halt weaponry into Iraq and restrict citizens from entering Iraq and joining the insurgency. Syria, after all, knows more about Iraq than any non-Middle Eastern country.

A common misconception on the US-Iraq war is that it is intertwined with and contingent on the long time Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Nevertheless, both the US and Israel need to reengage in talks with Syria to establish stability and successful peace treaties.

One thing we have learned from Iraq is that sometimes an empire must "talk" or "negotiate" with their adversaries in order to help establish peace and draw pragmatic solutions to a widespread conflict. Making enemies is inevitable, but choosing not to resolve differences is just plain foolish.