United States has no good options for Iraq
After talk for years by many prominent Democrats, Congress has finally done it; a timetable has been set for pullout from Iraq.
Last week, the Senate passed a war spending bill that included a clause that all troops be removed by March 31, 2008, despite threats that Bush is going to veto this bill.
Chances are such a bill will not be passed in the near future, since Democrats don’t have enough support to overcome any vetoes.
However, the Democratic party is now on record for abandoning the war.
Pulling out of Iraq would be the wrong message to send to the Muslims, but how I see it, the United States has no good options left concerning Iraq.
Extreme Islam is a sick religion, and its followers have an intense hatred for America no matter what we do.
Extreme Islam also has a long memory, and every time we kill a terrorist, the religion remembers it.
The longer we stay in Iraq, the more America inflames the hatred of this religion.
We might kill a lot of terrorists this generation, but the next generation will use that against us, indoctrinating their children about how evil America is.
Hell, these Muslims are still upset about the Crusades —does anybody honestly think they will forget the war in Iraq any time soon?
However, if we pull out of Iraq and stop killing the terrorists, America will still be hurt.
The extremists will say, “We defeated America! We won the war!” and they will be encouraged to continue their jihads against America.
It’s one of those situations where we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t — no matter what we do in Iraq, the Islamic extremists will use it as fuel to further their attacks against America.
That’s something both Republicans and Democrats don’t understand — no solution is really a solution in Iraq.
If Republicans have their way, America will feel the effects of Islamic extremists’ hatred for us for decades to come.
If Democrats have their way, we will still feel the effects of this violence-loving sect.
The media tells us that Islam is a peaceful religion and that might be so, but the extreme elements in this religion exert much power and influence over the rest of the world.
This column is in no way an attack against the Muslims reading this who are not terrorists.
But to those Muslims, I have a question: what can America honestly do to turn the extremists away from us? Can America ever get on the Middle East’s good side?
As I see it, the situation is close to hopeless and America will never escape the hatred of Islamic extremists. This is not defeatism, but realism.
Not that America is a Christian nation, but will the solution to this hatred only come when all the Muslims or all the Christians are dead?
For all the Muslims reading this, I want you to really answer these questions. Since you are a part of the religion, what is your solution? Would Muslims really be satisfied with anything America does to solve this problem?
I know there are Muslims on campus so get out your pens and write letters to the editor about this topic. Make your voice be heard. Help the rest of us ignorant Americans understand the situation in Iraq and the Middle East from a different perspective, because right now, your silence on the issue does nothing to solve it.
Dennis is a senior studying management communication.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum