You Can Always Go Back (to College or to War)

Let’s think the unthinkable. Let’s do it!

Pull the USA troops out of Iraq, NOW. TO-DAY! Bring them home. And let Iraq sort itself out.

I don’t mean to sound callous toward Iraqis, I am sorry that their country has been pushed into civil war.

Side note: Why can’t the media just call it what it is: civil war? Iraq is in civil war, okay? There’s no “it might descend into civil war,” it IS in civil war, okay? Okay. Let’s re-phrase the famous 1994 Rwanda question: how many “acts of genocide” does it take to make a genocide? How many acts of civil war does it take to make a civil war? Sheesh!

Back on topic: pulling the US troops out now. I feel bad for the CIVIL WAR that the Bush-Cheney War Profiteering Cartel has made of Iraq, but that’s not the soldiers’ fault. Regardless, as an American, I want our defense forces home and ready to act if our nation is actually attacked (say, by a hurricane.)

I find myself in a minority on this opinion. Even people opposed to the war will say, “I want our troops to stay there until Iraq is stabilized.” How stable is stable? Until there’s no killing between religious groups? Personally, I believe that will happen just a few days short of never.

I’m not saying write Iraq off, I’m not saying screw the people, I’m just saying America accomplished one of its sort-of missions: removal of Saddam and his goon squad. That’s done.

The thing I don’t like about the “We can’t leave yet,” strategy is how in a way, it gives Bush power beyond his term. He has now painted the next president into a corner: he must finish a mission that is not entirely clear.

Unless he (or she? Go Hillary!) has the audacity to just pull out. Fuck this scene, I’m out.

If we can squish this issue down into a single person, the Iraq war reminds me of my college career. Both were a disorganized mess. Both had an unclear mission objective that kept shifting. The difference is: I quit college, and it remains one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.

What makes my exit from college remarkable is that I had less than one semester to go. I think it was something like twelve credits, possibly less. I had been hating the classroom for 18+ years at that point, and the classes I was taking enraged me, especially when the weather outside was so beautiful, and there was an entire world of adventuring beyond the doors of the classroom.

So, the reason I like this stunning twist in my story and I’m proud of it is that it shows the recklessness, foolishness, and rashness I am capable of when I see what must be done. I love the reaction I get from people when I tell this tale. And I love the fact that even though it was a decision that made my life infinitely better, I still get criticized for it.

“You had that little bit left to go?” people ask me with eyes wide, “Why didn’t you just stick it out?”

“Because it was time to go,” is about all I can say. What they don’t understand is that I had been sticking it out since about eighth grade, which was the last grade I can remember learning anything of value in a classroom. Persistence is my strength, but being a younger lad, I had not learned to use it properly. Persistence is great, but sometimes, like the song says, you got to know when to fold ‘em or else, you’ll stick with a mistake and make an ass of yourself. (The first part is from the song, that second part, I made up.)

I’m not sold on the idea that a completed mistake is better than an incomplete one.

At the time of my college dropout, I was a bit scared, but also excited. It felt right. I consoled myself with the fact that if I ended up in the gutter, I could always go back to school and finish my degree.

I think the same can apply to Iraq. Why not pull out? See how things go, see if Iraqi security forces can get a handle on things. If it’s still a shitty mess, you can always go back to war.