Question for Mr Daniel Pipes: Is an immediate US military pullout from Iraq advisable ?

Submitted by true believer (India), May 5, 2006 at 04:12

Mr Daniel Pipes, Sir

You seem to favour an immediate US military pullout from Iraq. Does that mean a total withdrawal of US troops from Iraq leaving Iraqis to rely entirely on themselves ? - or - a partial/phased pullout and maintaining a token military presence on Iraqi soil to oversee things ? Moslem countries have been perfect textbook examples of failed democracies. Here elections were conducted successfully only because of the active intervention of western powers. If the troop withdrawal is complete Iraq will be vulnerable to be taken over by a despot not unlike Saddam, or worse with its sizable shia population it may play into the hands of Iranians. If US just maintains a token presence in the region it may lack the muscle to correct things. Please let me know.

-Francis

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Daniel Pipes replies:

Wrong. I favor keeping US troops in Iraq but removing them (and other Americans) from the cities and placing them in the desert.