What If We Win In Iraq?

What if we win the war in Iraq? One can look at the past history of victors to help predict the behavior of future victors.

In 480 B. C., 300 Greeks helped defeat thousands of Persians, uniting the Greek City States into a larger nation. A few generations later, from the victory of the 300, Alexander The Great created a Greek Empire that left a history of blood and destruction.

Will we downsize our military industrial complex with a victory in Iraq? Will we bring home our troops, all troops, and declare a peace dividend?

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy"? Mahatma Gandhi, "Non-Violence in Peace and War"

Will Israel and her enemies finally live in peace after 60 years of religious war? Will the religious right who believe the "end times" are near give up their predictions of Armageddon?

Will the United States stop invading other countries and killing and maiming thousands of innocent women and children?

President Bush said an American loss in Iraq would embolden the enemy. Will an American victory in Iraq embolden the United States?

The answers to the questions above are the same if the question was, "What if we lose in Vietnam"? We lost in Vietnam, but won the cold war. Win or lose in Iraq, the desire for pride and glory will remain strong. The lobbying efforts for more war material will go on. The religious wars will go on. The religious right will find new signs that Armageddon is near, and the war lovers will find a new bogeyperson. Young men will worship different Gods, fight with different weapons, and wear fashionable uniforms, and the next generation of young men will want to be a member of their own "300". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_(film)

Bilbo Baggins