Have you noticed? They don’t want us there anymore

Brandon — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:06:35 +0000

Not to go all Foreign Policy Expert on everyone, well, mainly because I’m not one, but, it does seem to me that if: 1. the goal of us invading Iraq was to create a democracy; 2. and a democracy for Iraq (as defined as by the Bush Administration) is a self-governing Iraq; 3. then why are we dragging our feet on the “security agreement” when it’s clear they appear to be ready to self-govern?

Yes, yes, I know. Stabilization of the region, protecting our oil interests and extradition for our soldiers. Still, I find it interesting, that if we’ve been so amazingly successful – as many would have us believe (i.e. everything from Bush’s “victory speech” in 2003 to all the recent insistence that the surge has worked) – why the prevailing sense of uncertainty surrounding turning power over to the Iraqis by withdrawing our troops?

Either we haven’t been as successful as the PR indicates, or we really have become a meddling entangler. Now, this may appear reasonable given the integrated nature of our world today, however, with every deliberate meddle we forfeit more of our national sovereignty. For instance, (and I believe our current hesitation in Iraq only reflects this much bigger issue) the “security agreement” is being referred to by many as a treaty.

If this is the case, then why hasn’t, to my knowledge, the Senate ratified it? After all, the Constitution calls for our Senate to ratify treaties with foreign countries. Looking at our actions, not only in this particular instance, but many others of recent years, it appears the UN trumps our Constitution and Senate. Not many politicians would admit this, but as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

Moving forward

I know some of these details are mundane and don’t have the same visceral impact as others , but I do believe it is important, if we believe in the Constitution and truly want to become better citizens to take a few minutes to write or call our Senators to remind them of their responsibility to ratify any treaty we make with foreign countries.

Yes, it’s not as infuriating as other recent issues, and, yes, it will probably go largely unnoticed, but it is an important detail that is being overlooked. If a few of us start insisting our leaders hold to even these simplest of guidelines perhaps we can maintain (or even reclaim) some of our national sovereignty, which our leaders seem to be hocking away more and more everyday.

So call or email your Senators and tell them you expect them to ratify this agreement with Iraq. You can find a list of them here.

Redefine Change » Foreign Policy

Have you noticed? They don’t want us there anymore

Moving forward