Why the United States Troops Should Not Leave Iraq

In recent days the news media is full of stories of war protests and reasons why the United States military should get out of Iraq as soon as possible. Iraq policy is shaping up to become a huge issue not only in the new Congress, but potentially in the 2008 Presidential election as well. Ever American citizen should be broken-hearted at the news of another young soldier killed or maimed in the Iraq war. However, does this loss of life mean that we should abandon the Iraq effort?

Whether or not you support the war or the presidency of President George W. Bush, think long and hard before you decide that our troops need to leave Iraq in the near future. I am not a politician or a newspaper reporter. I am not in the military, nor do I have family in the military. I am a work-at-home mother to preschoolers who feels that it would be a huge mistake to leave Iraq now or anytime soon.

First, I feel that it would be a message to the world, and to the Iraqi people, that we are giving up. In a way, our country seems to be a country of people who support whatever is "going well" at the time. When Saddam Hussein was first captured, support for the President and the War was at an all-time high. Now that there are almost daily bombings or other tragic events, support is low. We need to be able to stick by a commitment (whether or not it was the right decision) through good times and bad. By going to Iraq and overthrowing the current government, we in a sense have made a commitment to the Iraqi people to help them establish a new country-this is not a commitment we should turn our backs on now.

Secondly, I feel that leaving Iraq would be unfair to the veterans and soldiers who have fought in this war, some of whom have been injured or even paid the ultimate price. This is what we did in Vietnam-and it is the reason why some veterans are still having a hard time dealing with our actions there. It is only fair to the soldiers who are fighting so hard, and those who died for a free Iraq, that we finish the job we started.

Finally, leaving Iraq would most likely throw the country into chaos. This carries huge implications throughout the Middle East. Terrorists would thrive in Iraq even more so than they are right now. The region could possibly plunge into a violent civil war where a multitude of lives could be lost-many more than are being lost in the current violence. Is this really what we want? Are we so selfish as a nation that we cannot think of anyone but our own interests?

The media wants the United States to leave Iraq. A majority of the general public thinks it would be better for us to leave Iraq. Perhaps a mistake was made in invading Iraq to begin with, but leaving an unsettled Iraq in the near future would be a far worse mistake.