Cann calls for Troops to be pulled out of Iraq by October (Ipswich Liberal Democrats)

Ipswich Liberal Democrats <info@ipswichlibdems.org.uk>

Cann calls for Troops to be pulled out of Iraq by October

January 31, 2007 2:09 PM

Liberal Democrats at the London rally against war in Iraq.

Liberal Democrats rally against the Iraq War

American forces have launched the first assaults of their 'new' Iraq strategy. Their strategy, put simply, is to put more troops in to kill more of the enemy in order to then control more of the country. Sound familiar?

I was struck by the parallels with the Vietnam War where a similar strategy was tried. Under Secretary of Defense Robert S. MacNamara, America poured more and more troops into Vietnam in response to battlefield setbacks and a worsening political situation. At the height of the war 500,000 American troops were in Vietnam and both North and South Vietnam were being bombed on an industrial scale.

In recent years Robert MacNamara has been brave enough to write his apology, In Retrospect, in which he recognises that he was 'terribly, terribly wrong' and America should have withdrawn from Vietnam as early as 1963. MacNamara recognised that the strategy did not work because it failed to take account of two fundamental problems:

1) The South Vietnamese Government did not have popular support; and,

2) The presence of American forces (seen as being forces of occupation) exacerbated the problems.

The situation is similar, today, in Iraq. The Iraqi Government does not have popular support and our presence no longer helps the situation but hinders it. In the words of our own ex Chief of the General Staff, General Dannatt, we should "get ourselves out sometime soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems."

This deterioration in our position in Iraq is borne out by reports on the ground. John Humphreys candid report from Basra , see www.yougov.com, describes a security situation in which our forces are unable much of the time to leave their fortresses which are bombarded day and night. This in the areas where our troops were initially able to wander with Berets on and talk to locals. Indeed, the seriousness of the situation was recognised by the Foreign Office in the Autumn, when it ordered the evacuation of Consular staff from Basra.

The deterioration in the situation has also been recognised by the United States where the 'Baker Commission' has been tasked with reviewing the strategy in Iraq. However the U.S. authorities have ignored the advice of the commission. Its advice was to pull out, in time, following discussions with Iran and Syria.

Yet the War goes on, escalation continues and our Government refuses to talk about it. Liberal Democrats called on 31 October 2006 for a motion to establish an investigation into the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath. The government defeated this motion.

I believe that our forces in Iraq can hold their head up high knowing that they have done an excellent job in impossibly trying circumstances. It is time to bring them home and Liberal Democrats believe that we should set a date of October 07 for their withdrawal in order for the Iraqi.Government to be given a chance to get serious about it's responsibilities and for the UK and US to assist them to do this

We should learn the lessons of History. I urge our decision makers to learn the hard lessons of MacNamara, who has had the courage to admit his mistakes. It is time for our Government to admit its mistakes and try to create the best possible situation for democracy and prosperity to begin in Iraq.

Andrew Cann January 31 2007