Bloggers on Iraq: An IM Chat

Nick Gillespie debates Ed Morrissey and Judd Legum about Iraq and the 2006 election in an Associated Press IM chat.

November 7, 2006

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Judd Legum: this is the only way to succeed in Iraq...

Judd Legum: Our presence there is fueling the violence, to some extent, and more than our presence is the perception that we are never going to leave...

Judd Legum: if you look at the successes that have occurred in Iraq -- election, constitution -- these have occurred on a timetable...

Judd Legum: but even more than the Iraqis we need to do it for our own security ... we aren't able to focus on the threat from terrorism, which is a global problem.

Nick Gillespie: the first thing we need is a series of statements that define the mission in the first place.

Nick Gillespie: are we there to create a democratic region? to have deposed tyranny in the form of Saddam? what?

Nick Gillespie: it's tempting to see the evident failure of the occupation as distinct from the military success of vanquishing Saddam. but in fact...

Nick Gillespie: the U.S. never really had a clear set of objectives in mind, which set up the occupation to fail.

Edward Morrissey: Nick, I'd say both. We accomplished one very quickly and the other is taking more time than the U.S. thought.

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asap: Judd, focusing in on what you said ... is the U.S. presence more helpful or harmful to the situation in Iraq right now?

Edward Morrissey: The elected Iraqi government doesn't want us to leave soon, so they apparently believe it to be helpful.

Nick Gillespie: it's in the long-run occupation, btw, that bush's failure to put together a truly international coalition is really screwing the pooch.

Nick Gillespie: it allows for all sorts of problems to creep into any movement toward democracy. it allows insurgents to be "anti-American" instead of anti-democracy.