Statement: Withdraw our troops from Iraq.
Issue: Iraq Plan
Strongly Supports: 3938
Supports: 3552
Neutral: 1228
Opposes: 2041
Strongly Opposes: 1756
Average position: 'Neutral' (based on '12515' opinions)
American troops have been in Iraq for several years now. Although the defeat of Saddam and the Iraq military was relatively easy, the stabilization of the country in the aftermath has been anything but easy. Thousands of American troops have died, and Iraqi civilians continue to get caught in terrorist and cross-cultural attacks on a daily basis. The U.S. continues to progress in its attempt to help the Iraqis become politically and militarily self-sufficient, but most Democrats and much of the American public has lost patience for what they perceive as a never-ending task that offers costs too high to bear.
1. It would save the lives of many American troops and allow them to return home.
2. It may motivate terrorist insurgents to stop attacking innocent civilians in Iraq.
3. It will free up billions of dollars in funds that can be used for education, social security, renewable energy research, etc.
4. It will push Iraqi lawmakers to come to more agreements in running the new democracy.
5. World opinion of the United States will continue to get worse until we withdraw.
6. Much of the Muslim world resents the presence of American troops, and it is an easy source of terrorist recruitment.
7. Troops can be redeployed to Afghanistan and other areas where they're needed.
8. Iraq is no longer the direct threat to the U.S. that it was under Saddam, and we have no business fighting in its civil war.
9. We can help the new Iraqi government without providing troops; for example, we can provide arms, money, and training.
10. More troops in Iraq means we have less available in the U.S. to help out in natural disasters and domestic threats to security.
11. We need to turn our attention to Iran, North Korea, and other threats to world peace.
1. A true Sunni-Shiite civil war could ensue, resulting in ten times the current bloodshed.
2. The longer we stay, the more time Iraqi politicians have to work out government structure differences, and the more time Iraqi troops & police have to train.
3. We may have to re-invade if we don't stabilize the country since it could become a terrorist haven or could bring to power another Saddam.
4. The bloodshed currently confined to Iraq could spread to neighboring countries, resulting in not just an Iraqi civil war, but a Sunni-Shiite regional civil war.
5. It gives the U.S. military a chance to hunt down and kill terrorists.
6. It would give Al Qaeda a symbolic victory and become the basis of future recruiting propaganda.
7. It would invite similar terrorist/guerilla tactics in future wars since the tactics resulted in a victory that a conventional military couldn't achieve over the U.S. military.
8. As long as we stay, Iran (the leading terrorist-sponsor state) will face the pressure of being surrounded by American troops, and Iraq will provide another launching base if we're forced to invade.
9. It's giving American troops valuable guerilla-war training that may be useful if the U.S. must engage terrorists in other hot spots around the world.
10. If we withdraw, the terrorists currently fighting American troops will likely be dispersed to civilian Western targets.
11. Iraqis who have supported and helped Americans could face death or torture.
12. American troops remain in the heart of the terrorist breeding ground, the Middle East, and can thus be easily deployed to Syria, Iran, etc. if the need arises.
13. Iraqi civilians may fear retribution once American troops leave and will therefore be unwilling to help us further in our battle against terrorist insurgents.
14. Oil prices could skyrocket if Iraq becomes more unstable, leading to $5/gallon gas prices and a major recession of the world economy.
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