It's time to leave Iraq

Several members of Congress of both parties have recently called for President Bush to set a fixed time for withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. I agree; and I would add that the time should be sooner rather than later, weeks from now rather than months.

If ever there was a legitimate reason for a US attack on Iraq, it would have been to destroy terrorist training facilities. Whatever camps existed at the time of the invasion, they are surely gone now. The suspected weapons of mass destruction, if they ever existed, are no longer in Iraq. The hostile government of Saddam Hussein has been uprooted and replaced with a new government which should be relatively friendly. Any national interests we had in Iraq have been satisfied. Further US involvement will accomplish nothing but to further inflame the displaced Sunni Muslims.

There are other good reasons to bring the troops home soon. Our soldiers volunteered to defend the United States, not to stand between Sunni and Shiite Muslim factions in Iraq. American soldiers should not be ordered to risk their lives in order to enforce George Bush's ideas about how that country should be governed.

Young people who might otherwise have been interested in military careers are demoralized to see how likely it is that they will be sacrificed for the sake of empire building in Iraq or elsewhere. This hurts military recruitment and encourages those in Congress who want to bring back the draft.

The latest recruiting report revealed an approximate 40% shortfall. Senator Joseph Biden of the Foreign Relations Committee reacted to that by saying that "The truth of the matter is, it [the draft] is going to become a subject...It's just a reality.' Bringing back such involuntary servitude is not the way to protect liberty. Limiting our military actions to those that are truly needed to defend the lives and freedom of Americans would bring plenty of patriotic young people into voluntary military service.

There was never a proper legal basis to make war on Iraq, because Congress did not pass a declaration of war. Such a declaration is required by the Constitution. Keeping our troops in Iraq is compounding the insult to the Constitution. We need to acknowledge that mistake, remove those troops and resolve faithfully to follow constitutional procedures in the future.

Even peace in Iraq would best be served by our withdrawal. Our mere presence there enrages Iraqi and other Muslims in the region. The new government incorporates the Shiite majority, which should be able to control any insurgency by the minority Sunnis. We may not like the methods they would use to accomplish that goal, but that is a domestic Iraqi concern and none of our business.

If the president is serious about fighting terrorism, he should be looking at training camps in Syria, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and the like. These are facilities that can be destroyed without invasions, regime changes and "nation" (read "empire") building. Even more appropriate would be a focus on the ridiculous state of our border security, an issue that has largely been ignored by the administration. Surely the military could contribute something to a solution. These legitimate missions aren't possible now, since our military resources are tied up in Iraq.

An end to our adventure in Iraq is past due. If the president won't do it, Congress should set a near future deadline to bring the troops home.